JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College volleyball team defended its home court on Friday night with a pair of 3-0 sweeps over St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) opposition, taking down Blackburn College and Iowa Wesleyan University.
Now 2-0 on the season, IC resumes play at the Illinois College Invitational tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. with a crosstown showdown against MacMurray College.
Illinois College 3, Blackburn 0
After an uneven start by the Lady Blues in the opening set, a Blackburn error pulled Illinois College even at 11-11 and the Lady Blues caught fire thereafter.
Cheyanne Jockisch served up two aces along with
Ali Pankey adding three kills as part of an 8-0 run that gave IC a 19-11 advantage. With the upper hand, the Lady Blues were able to cruise to a 25-16 first set victory.
Blackburn jumped out to an early 2-1 lead in the second set following a kill from Kendall Knop, but it was all Illinois College from there.
Maddie Ramsey's kill put the Lady Blues up 4-3, and they never looked back. By the end of the set, the lead had grown to double-digits, with Madie Budd's ace putting IC up 24-14. Following a Blackburn point,
Rebecca Shields smashed home a kill, giving Illinois College the second set win, 25-15.
The Lady Blues were able to establish a three-point lead midway through the third set, 13-10, after a kill from Ramsey. Blackburn found itself even after an IC attack error, 14-14, but the Beavers were never able to pull in front;
Elizabeth Ganley earned a kill to put Illinois College back on top, 15-14, a lead that the Lady Blues would not surrender for the rest of the match. Back-to-back attack errors sealed the fate for Blackburn, as IC walked away with the set, 25-19.
Pankey ended the match with 13 kills, while Ramsey tacked on 11 more.
Brenna Dameris had an impressive debut with eight kills and Ganley was a perfect 4-for-4 on her attack attempts while also earning a double-double with 34 assists and 12 digs.
Illinois College 3, Iowa Wesleyan 0
A fast start to the first set set the tone for the nightcap between IC and Iowa Wesleyan. The Lady Blues notched five of the first six points in the match and barely trailed throughout the match.
In the first set, Illinois College took advantage of some sloppy play from the Tigers, pulling away for a fairly easy 25-15 win despite only notching 10 kills as a team.
The second set featured even more Iowa Wesleyan errors, but the IC attack caught up to its defense as well, paving the way for a second straight 25-15 victory. The Lady Blues hit .333 as a team in the second set while holding the Tigers to a -.100 hitting percentage.
The third set was the most intriguing of the night as Iowa Wesleyan came out fast and ratcheted up the pressure on IC. The lead grew to 12-5 for the visitors before the Lady Blues turned it around. Two kills from Pankey in a span of three points gave Illinois College its first lead of the third set at 16-15, and
Rebecca Shields promptly recorded two aces to extend out to an 18-15 edge. Iowa Wesleyan would get no closer than two points after that and
MacKenzie Heinz sealed the win with back-to-back kills.
Pankey once again led IC with 12 kills and this time made it a double-double with 11 digs. Ramsey ended with 10 kills in the match and Shields added six. Budd matched Pankey for the team high in digs with 11 and Ganley handed out 31 assists on the night.
