NORMAL – Ashley Rosch helped the Illinois State volleyball team overcome a first-set loss Saturday night at Redbird Arena, as the Redbirds rallied back to take a 3-1 win over visiting Loyola. The Redbirds won by scores of 16-25, 25-14, 25-20, 25-15.
Rosch paced the Redbirds with a match-high 21 kills, while Aly Dawson and Ali Line added 10 and 11 kills, respectively. Jordan Weatherless led the Redbirds with 35 assists and Courtney Pence tallied a match-high 20 digs. Jaelyn Keene added six kills, a pair of aces and a team-high four blocks.
Loyola (19-8, 8-6 MVC) scored the first four points of the match and never trailed in the first set. The Ramblers hit .429 in the opening set as the visitors took a 1-0 lead in the match.
Illinois State (20-8, 10-5 MVC) flipped the script in the second set, grabbing an early 7-1 lead thanks to a five-point run that featured three kills from Rosch. The Redbirds maintained a comfortable lead throughout and evened the match at one set apiece when Rosch finished off the second with her seventh kill of the set.
The third set was close early, but the Redbirds pulled away with an 8-0 run, which featured two kills each from Dawson and Weatherless. Dawson and Line recorded four kills apiece in the set, and the Redbirds took a 2-1 lead in the match when Rosch tallied a kill on set point.
Illinois State used a similar recipe in the fourth set, using a five-point run to separate itself from Loyola early in the set. Rosch recorded seven more kills in the fourth set to help the Redbirds finish off the win.
Illinois State is back in action next weekend with road matches at Southern Illinois Friday and Evansville Saturday. Links for live audio, video and stats are available at GoRedbirds.com, and fans can receive live updates by following @RedbirdVB on Twitter.
