McLean County Times

The Illinois State Redbirds volleyball team secured a sweep against the Indiana State Sycamores in their opening Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) match of the season. The match, held in Terre Haute, Indiana, saw the Redbirds rally late in the third set to win 3-0.

In the first set, both teams were tied at 4-4 before Illinois State went on a five-point run. Contributions came from Hannah Reichensperger and Ruth Ziegler with kills, a block by Ziegler and Khenedi Guest, and two consecutive kills by Aida Shadewald. The Redbirds maintained control to finish the set 25-17.

The second set featured several lead changes. After falling behind 7-3, Illinois State responded with five straight points to regain an 8-7 advantage. The teams remained close until tied at 24 points each. At that point, Reichensperger delivered a kill and a solo block to secure the set for Illinois State at 26-24.

During the third set, Indiana State built an eight-point lead at 21-13 in front of their home crowd. However, Illinois State closed out strong by scoring 14 of the final 18 points in the set. Key plays included a kill by Caitlyn Clark and an attack error by Indiana State that clinched the comeback win for Illinois State at 27-25.

Illinois State improved its record against Indiana State to 73 wins and 10 losses all-time, extending its winning streak in this matchup to seven games. The Redbirds have now won their last seven matches against the Sycamores and hold a strong record of 30 wins and eight losses when playing in Terre Haute.

This victory marks Illinois State’s first MVC-opening win since the 2020-21 season. The team recorded its first double-digit block performance since September 12 against Miami (FL), which is currently ranked No. 24 nationally. With a total of 13 blocks—its highest mark for any three-set MVC match this year—the team now has its second-highest blocking total of the season.

Khenedi Guest led defensively with a career-high ten blocks along with eight kills, becoming the first Redbird since Reichensperger on November 20 last year to reach double digits in blocks during one match. Her ten blocks are also currently tied for sixth-most in NCAA Division I volleyball for any three-set contest this season.

Caitlyn Little posted her third double-double of the year with twelve digs and eleven kills while adding two blocks. Ruth Ziegler contributed nine kills along with three digs and three blocks; Reichensperger finished with five kills, six digs (tying her season high), and two blocks; Shadewald returned from injury to tally five kills, six digs, and three blocks.

Arianna Rossi had her ninth match this season recording double-digit digs with eleven; she also served two aces to lead her team in that category during this game. Freshman Ella Craggs recorded twenty assists—her third time leading ISU this year—and Audrey Clark added fifteen assists.

Illinois State will continue conference play tomorrow night against Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.