McLean County Times

The Illinois State Redbirds volleyball team lost a close match against the Murray State Racers in Kentucky on Saturday. Despite rallying from a two-set deficit, the Redbirds could not complete the comeback and fell in five sets.

In the first set, Illinois State took an early lead but Murray State responded with a six-point run and eventually secured a 25-21 win. The Racers maintained momentum in the second set, never trailing and finishing with a 25-17 victory.

Illinois State responded strongly in the third set, starting with back-to-back kills from Khenedi Guest and taking a 3-0 lead. The Redbirds never trailed in this frame and won decisively, 25-12. This marked their largest set win since November 15, 2024, when they limited Belmont to 11 points.

The fourth set was closely contested, featuring 16 ties including at 24-24. The Redbirds finished on a four-point run to take the set 26-24 and force a deciding fifth set.

In the final set, both teams traded points before Murray State went on another five-point run to build a 6-1 advantage. Illinois State narrowed the gap to two points at 12-10 but could not overcome the early deficit and lost the set 15-11.

Several players reached individual milestones during the match. Khenedi Guest recorded her sixth consecutive game with eight or more kills, finishing with 13. Caitlyn Little also had 13 kills—her tenth double-digit performance of the season—and achieved a career-high of 14 digs for her sixth double-double this year. Arianna Rossi surpassed double figures in digs for the thirteenth time this season and recorded over twenty digs for the fifth time with a total of twenty-one. Oliwia Caputa posted career highs in both digs (seventeen) and kills (twelve), earning her second double-double of the season. Ella Craggs tallied forty-three assists and fifteen digs for her fifth double-double of the year; her assist count was also her second-highest career total.

This match marked only the second time in October that four Illinois State players had double-digit digs. Additionally, it was their fourteenth extended-set contest of the season—a statistic that ranks as eighth-most in program history.

Illinois State will return home next weekend for games against Drake University on Friday, October 17, followed by Southern Illinois on Saturday, October 18.