Kathryn Sears
CHARLESTON, Ill. — Illinois State volleyball fell in its 2025 exhibition match in five sets to Eastern Illinois despite the hustle of Ella Craggs’ 34 assists in her debut on Saturday night at Gardella Family Court.
The freshman worked hand-in-hand with her attackers, four of which landed in double digits. Aida Shadewald led the pack with 14, with Caitlyn Little one kill behind her.
After a 25-14 set one loss, the Redbirds fought back to take the next two sets with scores of 25-19. The Panthers’ Destiny Walker led the match in kills with 18, finding holes in the Redbirds’ defense.
The Redbirds were unable to carry this momentum into the fourth set as they lost 25-21. The final set saw Eastern pull away with a five-point victory to claim the deciding factor.
This was a match of mistakes for the Redbirds, out killed the Panthers 65-55, 15 service errors to the Panthers’ six.
Luke Meske is a sports reporter for The Vidette. Meske can be contacted at [email protected].
IF YOU SUPPORT THE VIDETTE MISSION of providing a training laboratory for Illinois State University student journalists to learn and sharpen viable, valuable and marketable skills in all phases of digital media, please contribute to this most important cause. Thank you.
Kathryn is the main contributor to the quiz section of LaDailyGazette.com. If you have an idea for a quiz, let us know.