Illinois State volleyball (18-12, 11-7 Missouri Valley Conference) went 2-0 in its last regular-season weekend at Redbird Arena Nov. 16 and 17 defeating Southern Illinois in five sets and Evansville in four frames.

The No. 5 seeded Redbirds faced off against the No. 4 Salukis again last Thursday in the MVC tournament quarterfinals in Springfield, Mo., emerging victorious for the second time in six days. ISU concluded its season with a loss in four sets to No. 1 Creighton in the semifinals.

“The fact that we had one setter all year and two outsides with one outside getting hurt and were able to play so well at this point in the season with very little depth on our team is a testament to these players and how healthy they were and how hard they worked every day,” ISU head coach Melissa Myers said to WJBC radio. “I’m just so proud of this team.”

Daily Vidette Archive Photo: Junior Brooklyn Hlaflka helped the Redbirds to the semi-finals of the MVC tournament and in doing so, earned all-tournament honors.

ISU 3, SIU 2

ISU was up 18-15 in the first set before going on a 4-0 run to take a 22-15 lead. ISU went on to win the set, 25-19.

In the second set, the two squads were tied at 23 late in the frame and SIU notched two consecutive points to end it, 25-23.

ISU raced out to a 10-4 lead in the third set and maintained that momentum throughout the remainder of the game to win it 25-19.

With SIU and ISU tied at 6 in the fourth set, the Salukis went on a 14-4 run to go up, 20-10. The Redbirds fought back, but it was not enough as they fell, 25-19.

In the deciding game, ISU took a five-point lead at 9-4 before withstanding a late Saluki surge to hold on, 15-13.
ISU 3, UE 1

Up 21-20 in the first set, UE went on a 4-1 run to end it, 25-21.

In the second set, ISU took an early 7-3 lead and never looked back, to win the frame, 25-19.

With a 20-19 lead for ISU in the third set, the Redbirds went on a 5-1 run to emerge victorious, 25-20.

The Redbirds led by six, 11-5 early in the fourth set and continued to pour it on, eventually winning by nine, 25-16.

ISU 3, SIU 0

With the two teams tied at six in the first set, the Redbirds outscored the Salukis by four the rest of the way to win it, 25-21.

The second game the teams were once again deadlocked at six before  ISU outscored SIU, 19-15 to take the frame, 25-21.

The Redbirds opened the third frame with a four-point lead at 10-6. The two squads traded points the rest of the way for ISU to win by a similar five-point margin, 25-20.

CU 3, ISU 1

The Redbirds were down 17-15 in the first set, but the Bluejays scored eight out of the next 14 points to take the frame, 25-21.

ISU held a 12-6 lead early in the second set and continued to maintain that lead to win by a similar five-point margin by the end at 25-20.

The Bluejays raced out to an eight-point advantage at 13-5 in the third game. The Redbirds went on a late run, but it wasn’t enough as they lost, 25-19.

CU and ISU were tied at 17 in the fourth set, but the Bluejays outscored the Redbirds, 8-4 to win the set, 25-21.