Image Courtesy of Redbird Athletics
NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State Volleyball continues to rally forward with another weekend series sweep, extending its win streak to 5 in a row and being back over .500 (10-9) for the first time in almost 2 months.
The Redbirds began their weekend with the annual whiteout game against the Indiana State Sycamores. In front of 1,700 fans at CEFCU arena, they chopped down the Sycamores on their way to a 3-0 sweep, starting the weekend off right.
It was an overwhelming victory for the Redbirds, as a struggling Indiana State team could only muster a meager .146 hitting percentage on the day compared to Illinois State’s impressive .308 hitting percentage, their best mark at home this season. Their shots were falling early and often, forcing the Sycamores behind the eight ball for most of the match.
Everything was working in Redbird’s favor in this matchup, including a staggering 10 service aces in the match, which was another home season high for Illinois State. Mekaila Apu, a senior transfer student in her first year with the Redbirds, had a team-high with 3 of those aces.
Khenedi Guest showed up huge in this match, tallying a third of the Redbird’s total kills on the match herself, with 15 of the Redbird’s 46 the matchup. Despite the Redbirds and Sycamores both having over 100 total shots on the day, Illinois State was much more efficient, and that allowed them to win this one handily.
On Saturday, the Redbirds completed their second sweep of the weekend, another dominating performance against the lowly Evansville Purple Aces in one of the bird’s most impressive defensive showings of the season.
In this matchup, the Birds were able to hold the Purple Aces to 35 total points scored on the day, as Evansville only reached the 20-point mark once In the match, that being the second set and the closest of the match a 25-23 thriller, that the Redbirds were able to hold onto and take the set.
Aida Shadewald and Khenedi Guest reached double-digit kills in this match, totaling 24. They were the Illinois State offense in this match. With this fifth consecutive win, the Redbirds now move to 5-1 in MVC play, tied for the second-best record in the conference with dreaded rival and their next opponent, Bradley.
The latest iteration of the I-74 rivalry will take place in a Monday night matchup in Peoria between the Braves and the Redbirds. It will have implications on the seeding of the MVC, with the winner of this match emerging as the third seed in the MVC.