Volleyball falls to Illinois State in five

Box Score (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The No. 20 Marquette University women's volleyball team fell in five sets, 3-2, to Illinois State on Saturday afternoon at the Al McGuire Center (25-13, 21-25, 25-17, 16-25, 16-14)

The Golden Eagles (1-1) were led by a triple double from senior Taylor Wolf, while fellow transfer Savannah Rennie notched seven kills, three service aces and six blocks. For the match, MU hit just .128 (46-24-172) to ISU's .224 (61-24-165).

Marquette was held to a .000 hitting percentage in a 25-13 first set loss as the Redbirds hit .433 as a team, connecting on 15 of their 30 swings.

The Golden Eagles were able to square the match at the break behind four kills from Hannah Vanden Berg and a pair of kills and three blocks from Rennie. The frame featured 12 tie scores and Marquette was able to pull away from a 21-21 tie for the 25-21 victory.

A 25-16 fourth set victory allowed Marquette to push the match to a fifth and deciding set after facing a 12-12 tie in the stanza. Wolf led MU with five kills and no errors on 10 swings in the frame, while Rennie posted a pair of kills and three blocks.

Marquette led 9-7 in the fifth set and sat at match-point, 14-13, but could not get across the finish line. Neither team hit above .000 in the final frame and ISU claimed the victory on a Hope Werch hitting error.

The Redbirds (1-1) were led by 22 kills and four blocks from Kaylee Martin, while Sarah Kushner posted 10 kills.

The Golden Eagles return to action in Cedar Falls, Iowa against Northern Iowa on Saturday, Jan. 30 and Drake on Sunday, Jan. 31.

Keep up with the Marquette University women's volleyball program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteVB) and Instagram (@MarquetteVB) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteVolleyball).