Two weeks ago, the Illinois State volleyball team's record had dropped to 8-6 overall and head coach Sharon Dingman decided changes were needed. Moving 6-foot-4 sophomore Megan O'Connell from right side to left side looked like the most dramatic, especially when O'Connell posted 19 kills and 25 digs in her first match at the new position.
Yet, five matches later, statistics show that the Redbird defense has improved dramatically and moving Abby Lewis to full-time duty on the right side has been the key.
The Redbirds, who have won four of those last five matches and moved into second place in the Missouri Valley Conference, will take a 12-7 overall record and 9-2 in the Valley into Friday's 7 p.m. match with Indiana State at Redbird Arena. Illinois State is trying to win its sixth straight Valley match.
Lewis, who had played some right side but had mostly been a left-side player in her three seasons at Illinois State, has been everything Dingman expected and more.
"We knew that, to improve our defense, we had to get Abby on the court," said Dingman. "She is digging a lot of balls and her blocking has been great. If you look at the numbers, you can see that there's a carry over to our whole team."
Numbers back Dingman's theory.
In those five matches, the 'Birds have improved their digs per game by 45 percent from 13.78 to 19.95 per game, with Lewis personally accounting for 22 percent of those digs by averaging 4.37 per game herself.
Team blocks per game are up almost as much--40 percent--from 2.60 to 3.66 per game. Lewis has had a hand in 1.21 of those blocks per game, better than 33 percent.
Redbird opponents, hitting .202 before the position switches, are hitting just .162 since. ISU's offense has shown some improvement, but nothing like the defense.
"Abby brings maturity to the court," said Dingman. "She is willing to play defense and does the 'little things'--I almost hate to call them little things because they can make a huge difference. Abby plays hard. Everybody is playing better. I think there's a connection there, and I think we can continue to show improvement."
Dingman's team won a four-game match from the Sycamores in Terre Haute last month. She believes her team's defense will be tested by Indiana State's chief offensive weapons: middle Megan Lynch, left-side hitter Cheryl Berg and right-side hitter Jennifer Richardson.
"Megan Lynch is playing well," said Dingman. "We respect Berg as a great outside hitter. Richardson is one of those freshmen who is getting better with every match. If we can play defense and control themiddle, I like our chances."
With Lewis leading the defense, there's less left to chance.
