Illinois State volleyball tops Illinois-Chicago to extend win streak

Posted on September 16, 2015
Lexi Varga
Lexi Varga led ISU with a career-high 16 kills in a win at Illinois-Chicago on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy GoRedbirds.com)

By ISU Sports Information

CHICAGO – The Illinois State volleyball team upped its winning streak to eight with a 3-1 win over Illinois-Chicago Tuesday night at Flames Athletic Center.

Lexi Varga led the Redbirds with a career-high 16 kills. Ashley Rosch added 15 kills, while Jaelyn Keene chipped in 11 kills and a season-high seven blocks. Jacqueline Twing dished out a career-high 49 assists. Courtney Pence led four Redbirds tallying double-digit digs, with a match-high 25.

“It could have gone either way, but I was glad to see our team step up,” said Illinois State head coach Melissa Myers. “We played very well in the fourth set and found a way to win.”

Four quick kills from Rosch and a four-point run midway through the set provided the difference for Illinois State in the first set. Illinois-Chicago kept it close, and trailed by just two points late in the set, at 22-20, but the Redbirds scored three of the final four points, including the final point on an ace from Rosch.

Illinois State (8-2) scored the first five points of the second set, but the Flames slowly chipped away at the lead, and twice trimmed the Redbird lead to a single point, the final time at 19-18. Illinois State scored six of the final seven points, however, to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Illinois-Chicago (5-5) came to life in the third set and twice held a lead of four points. The Redbirds fought back to tie it up, the final time at 23-23, before the hosts scored the final two points to claim the set.

The fourth set was the closest of the night. Illinois State had three set points, while Illinois-Chicago had two, but it was the Redbirds who capitalized on their final chance. Keene set up the Redbirds’ final set point with a solo block, and then ended the match with her 11th kill of the evening.

The Redbirds return to action this weekend at the Flyer Invitational, hosted by Dayton, Friday and Saturday. The Redbirds will take on host Dayton Friday at 6 p.m. CT, before Saturday matches against Jacksonville at 9 a.m. CT and Eastern Michigan at 3 p.m. CT.

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