INDIANAPOLIS – The Auburn volleyball team battled a tough Illinois State team to open final day of the Top Dawg Challenge, falling to the Redbirds, 3-1 (25-15, 25-17, 22-25, 25-22), in Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Auburn (2-2) outside hitter Brenna McIlroy and freshman setter Mica Allison each put together double-doubles on the day. McIlroy led the way with season bests in 13 kills and 11 digs. Allison added a career-high 40 assists and a career-best 11 digs.
Freshman Taylor Rowland added 10 kills for the Tigers, while freshman libero Bella Rosenthall chipped in 11 digs. Sophomore Chesney McClellan led the squad with seven blocks.
Illinois State (4-1) had a pair of Redbirds with double-digit digs. Courtney Pence led the match with 16, while Kendal Meier added 12. Setter Stef Jankiewicz finished with 36 assists and Ali Line had 10 kills.
The Redbirds jumped out early in the first set and held on throughout the stanza. Locked at 3-all, ISU pushed a four-point rally to go up 7-3 and used another run to force an early Auburn timeout at 11-5. The Redbirds didn't let up and went on to take the set, 25-15.
ISU held its momentum into the second set and pushed an early 4-1 lead. Auburn put together three-straight kills between Gwyn Jones and Anna Stevenson to cut the Redbird lead at 12-10, but ISU regrouped and pushed another long run for a 17-10 advantage and went on to win, 25-17.
Auburn bounced back in the third behind tough serving from Karis Beasley and a big blocking presence from McClellan to take a 6-0 lead. Another quick run lifted the Tigers to an 11-2 advantage, forcing an ISU timeout. A Jones kill and a Stevenson/Jones block made it 18-9, but the Redbirds began to peck away at the Auburn lead with a pair of three-point runs. After a Tiger timeout at 22-17, the squads battled back and forth until AU finally sealed the set, 25-22.
The squads went back and forth in the fourth before a block from Rowland/McClellan sent the Tigers on a six-point run for a 13-8 lead. ISU inched its way back into the contest and locked the score at 15-all. A 4-0 ISU run made it 21-19 and the Redbirds closed out the match with a 25-22 victory.
Auburn caps the Top Dawg Challenge Saturday afternoon with a 3 p.m. CT contest vs. Eastern Illinois in Hinkle Fieldhouse.
