McLean County Times

The Illinois State University volleyball team lost a close three-set match to Southern Illinois on Saturday night in Normal, Illinois. The sets were decided by scores of 21-25, 23-25, and 23-25. The contest included 37 tie scores and a dozen lead changes.

In the first set, there were 16 ties and four lead changes. The teams were tied at every point from nine until twenty. With the score tied at 20, Southern Illinois won four straight points to take a 24-20 lead before closing out the set.

Illinois State led early in the second set but Southern Illinois responded with a run to go ahead. ISU regained the lead late but could not hold on as SIU secured the final two points for another narrow win.

The third set was again closely contested, with both teams tied at 23 late in the frame. Two consecutive kills by Southern Illinois sealed their road victory.

Aida Shadewald led Illinois State with a season-high and match-high of 15 kills on 36 attempts. Ruth Ziegler, Khenedi Guest, and Caitlyn Little each added seven kills, while Hannah Reichensperger had six.

Ella Craggs finished with a team-best 19 assists and Audrey Clark added 16 assists along with her first collegiate double-double, recording a career-high ten digs. Little had eleven digs for her seventh double-digit dig match this season and her third time leading the team in that category.

Five Redbirds—Little, Clark, Shadewald (8), Arianna Rossi (7), and Reichensperger (7)—each registered at least seven digs during the match. Reichensperger also tied her career-high in digs and recorded three blocks to lead ISU in that category.

Next weekend, Illinois State will play away games against Northern Iowa on Friday evening and Drake on Saturday.