NORMAL, Ill. -- From the .600 hitting percentage of Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week Kendra Haselhorst to the strong back-row play of little-used junior Brandi Petelle, all 12 Illinois State players contributed to a 15-10, 15-8, 15-5 win over Indiana State Friday at Redbird Arena.
Haselhorst had 12 kills in 20 attempts without an error. Megan O'Connell had 13 kills, while Jackie Utz and Erin Jones led the 'bench brigade.' Utz, who hit Indiana State for 20 kills and 22 digs in the last meeting, had 8 kiulls and a match-high 16 digs. Jones didn't start, but contributed 5 digs, 2 kills and 2 blocks while changing the momentum for the 'Birds.
Redbird coach Sharon Dingman was proud of her team's depth.
"Erin and Jackie changed the energy on the court," said Dingman. "We passed the ball well and got balanced offense. Everybody's contributing. Practice is extremely competitive. We put Brandi in therre because she's been serving our team off the court in practice. And Brandi came in and passed the ball perfectly."
The Redbirds, 13-7 overall, 10-2 in the Valley, beat Indiana State, 10-12, 4-8, for the seventh straight time and 31st time in 33 all-time meetings. Illinois State also guaranteed its 18th straight Missouri Valley regular-season winning record. No other Valley team can match that mark.
Sycamore coach Jim Bertoli wasn't happy with his team, which hit just .103 for the match and was burned by seven Redbird service aces.
"It was flat out lack of effort and hustle," said Bertoli, talking about his team. "Don't get me wrong; Illinois State has a very good team. Tonight, we made them look like they belong in the Top 25."
Bertoli was pleased that Utz wasn't in the starting lineup and wasn't surprised when the senior outside hitter had 6 kills in game two.
"Jackie Utz has to love us," said Bertoli. "I was surprised that Sharon didn't have her on the floor at the start. Then she came in there and we couldn't stop her."
A sloppy game one saw the Redbirds lead 7-2 before a 7-1 Sycamore run put the visitors ahead 9-8. Staci Boyce served three straight points, including Ilinois State's only ace of the game, to put the Redbirds in control. B Corbin's four straight service points helped the Redbirds turn a 6-4 advantage into 10-4 in game two. Jones' two blocks helped lock the game away for Illinois State. In game three, Megan O'Connell's back-to-back service aces put the 'Birds ahead 9-0. She added another ace later in the game as the Redbirds were never threatened.
Becky Weber, the league's assist leader, moved into fifth place on the all-time Ililnois State career assist list with her first of 33 set assists. Weber came into the match tied for fifth place with Jolene Jordan Hoover, now head coach at Clemson, who had 2,197 from 1982-85. Weber has 2,230.
The Redbirds play their final non-conference regular-season match of the season Tuesday at Louisville. The Cards were one of the teams earning votes in the American Volleyball Coaches' Association poll at the start of the season.
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