By ISU Sports Information
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Illinois State volleyball team topped Long Beach State in straight sets in its first match at the Harvard Invitational Friday at Malkin Athletic Center.
The Redbirds won by scores of 25-15, 27-25, 26-24.
Lexi Varga paced the Redbirds with a match-high 14 kills, while the trio of Jaelyn Keene, Aly Dawson and Ashley Rosch added eight, nine and 10 kills, respectively. Jordan Weatherless dished out a team-high 26 assists, while Jacqueline Twing added 15 helpers.
Courtney Pence tallied match-high totals of 16 digs and three aces. Ratasha Garbes and Keene registered four blocks apiece.
The win over Long Beach State – which entered the weekend as the top team outside of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Coaches’ Top-25 poll – was the first in program history for the Redbirds, who were previously 0-7 against the 49ers.
“This was a team effort with several players stepping up at different times,” said Illinois State head coach Melissa Myers. “Lexi had a great match and set the tone early for us on offense. Sets two and three could have gone either way, but the team made great decisions and found a way to execute late.”
Illinois State (2-2) got off to a good start in the first set, breaking a 3-3 tie with six-straight points and forcing Long Beach State (2-2) to use both of its timeouts. The Redbirds increased their lead moments later, using a five-point rally to go ahead at 16-8, but the 49ers answered with a five-point run of their own. Illinois State, however, closed out the set on an 8-2 rally to claim the set.
The Redbirds grabbed an early advantage in the second set as well, but Long Beach State slowly chipped away at the lead and tied the score at 13-13. The lead ping-ponged back and forth the rest of the way and Long Beach State earned a pair of set points late, both of which were fended off by the Redbirds. Dawson gave the Redbirds a set point when she broke a 25-25 tie with a kill, and the Redbirds took the set on the next point with an attacking error from the 49ers.
Illinois State took another early lead in the third set, only to see the 49ers battle back again. Long Beach State led by two points, at 20-18, before kills from Rosch and Varga tied the score at 20-20. The Redbirds regained the lead on back-to-back kills from Rosch, and the Redbirds took advantage of their second match point moments later to win the match in straight sets.
Illinois State will play two more matches at the Harvard Invitational Saturday, first against host Harvard at 12 p.m. CT, and later versus Rutgers at 3 p.m.
