NORMAL, Ill. – The 2017 Illinois State volleyball team showcased its talent for the first time in front of its home fans Saturday, as the Redbirds hosted their annual Red and White Scrimmage at Redbird Arena. The Red team topped the White team, 3-1, winning by scores of 25-20, 25-9, 25-18, 14-25.
Most players suited up for both sides during the scrimmage. Lexi Wallen led all players with 14 kills, while splitting time between squads. Jaelyn Keene added 12 kills, while Ella Francis tallied 10. Machayla Leonard and Ali Line contributed eight and nine kills, respectively. Â
Stef Jankiewicz dished out 37 assists for the Red team, while Jordan Weatherless provided 29 for the White squad. The teams combined for 14.5 blocks Saturday, with Wallen and Keene leading the way, with four and five, respectively. Three of Wallen's blocks were solos.
Courtney Pence led all players in digs, with 19, while four others reached double figures in digs: Lexi Varga (15), Kendal Meier (14), Leonard (14) and Elianna Lovejoy (10).
"This was our first time in Redbird Arena, so just getting in here and in front of a live crowd was big," said first-year head coach Leah Johnson. "We saw some things to work on and once we get those kinks ironed out and smoothed out, I think you'll start to see what we see in practice every day, which is a lot of high-flying kills."
A close first set was broken open by the Red team when it rattled off six-straight points to flip a two-point deficit to a four-point lead at 21-17. A kill from Jankiewicz got the Red team to a set point and Sydney Holt finished it there with a kill moments later.
The Red team carried momentum into the second set, shooting out to a 7-2 lead. The White squad got back to within three points at 8-5, but the Red team scored eight of the next nine points to take control. Aces from Monica Miller and Pence helped the Red team close out the set, which was punctuated by back-to-back kills from Keene.
The Red team used another early binge in the third set to run out to an early five-point edge. Though the White side trimmed the deficit to one, at 9-8, the Red team rallied off six of the next seven points to pull away and win its third-straight set.
The White team claimed its only set in the fourth, as an early seven-point run provided all the cushion the team needed to finish the scrimmage with a set victory. Weatherless dished out 13 assists for the White team, while Wallen tallied four kills in the set.
The Redbirds will begin the 2017 season next weekend at the Hampton Inn & Suites Waco North Baylor Invitational, in Waco, Texas. The Redbirds will play their season opener Friday against UC Santa Barbara, before taking on No. 15 Florida State and host Baylor on Saturday.
Links for live stats and video are available at GoRedbirds.com, and fans can follow @RedbirdVB on Twitter for live updates and more.
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