Redbird volleyball sweeps Sycamores to stay perfect in MVC

Posted on September 30, 2016
ISU Volleyball celebration
Illinois State captured a straight-set win over visiting Indiana State. (Photo courtesy goredbirds.com)

By WJBC Staff

NORMAL – Jaelyn Keene tallied a match-high 16 kills and the Illinois State volleyball team remained undefeated in Missouri Valley Conference play with a straight-sets win over visiting Indiana State Friday night at Redbird Arena. Illinois State won by scores of 25-23, 25-20, 25-17.

Illinois State (11-5, 4-0 MVC) also benefited Aly Dawson’s 13 kills. Jordan Weatherless dished out a match-high 24 assists for the Redbirds, while Courtney Pence led all players with 19 digs in the match.

Keene, who turned in a very stellar .593 hitting percentage Friday night, also added four blocks, three aces and three digs in the win over Indiana State (7-8, 1-2).

A very close first set was broke open by the Redbirds with a 5-1 run that unknotted a 13-13 tie. The Redbirds eventually got to a match point, at 24-19, with a kill from Dawson, but Indiana State fought off four-straight set points before Keene finished it with her seventh kill of the set.

Illinois State ran out to an early lead in the second set, thanks to a 5-0 run, followed quickly by a 7-1 binge, which increased the Redbird lead to 13-5. The Sycamores fought back to get within three points late in the set, at 23-20, but kills from Dawson and Annchara Montgomery helped the Redbirds take a 2-0 lead into the break.

The Redbirds played their best volleyball of the night in the third set. Illinois State never trailed in the final set and pulled away for good with three-straight aces from Keene late in the match. Keene tallied six of her 16 kills in the set, including her final kill of the night on match point.

Illinois State returns to action Monday with a Missouri Valley Conference match at Drake at 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and WJBC.com, and links for live video, audio and stats are available at GoRedbirds.com. Fans can also follow @RedbirdVB on Twitter for live updates from the match.

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