Kendra Haselhorst had 21 kills and a building record 12 blocks, and Staci Boyce had 15 kills in the final three games to lead Illinois State to a 15-6, 10-15, 15-13, 11-15, 15-12 decision over Bradley in Missouri Valley Conference volleyball Saturday at Redbird Arena.
Boyce had eight kills in game three as the Redbirds rallied from a 13-8 deficit to a 15-13 decision. Megan OConnell had 15 kills and 20 digs to back the Boyce-Haselhorst duo.
Bradley, 15-12, 8-10, finishes its season even though the Braves were sixth in the Missouri Valley. Indiana State gets the No. 6 seed because it hosts the tournament.
Illinois State,18-9, 15-3, took a team-record 248 attack attempts, but fell one short to Bradley in kills, 79-78. The Braves were led by Laura Benzing with 22 kills and Sam Hardwick with her second straight triple-double, 13 kills, 28 set assists and 17 digs. Bradley out-dug the Birds 108-102, but ISU had a 19-11 block advantage in the 2-hour, 20-minute marathon. The 19 Redbird blocks also were a Redbird Arena record.
Haselhorst, Boyce and OConnell each had three kills in the rally game. With the game tied at 4-4, ISU scored on a Becky Weber tip and a Bradley hitting error to take a 6-4 lead. The Birds never lost that lead, but never led by more than four points as a stubborn Bradley team never let up.
It was a good way to end the home season, said Haselhorst, playing her final home game of her career. We knew Bradley would be tough on us and want to end their season with a win. But this (type of match) is what its all about. The crowd was there and this was the close, tight, intense game you want to win. It felt good.
Haselhorst, the only player in Missouri Valley Conference history with 1600 career kills and 500 career blocks, was just a dig away from a triple-double (she had 9).
Although Haselhorst was doing her usual damage, Redbird assistant coach Phil Nickel praised Boyces spark in the post-game press conference.
We were struggling in the first two games to get kills in the first two games and Staci came in in the middle of game three and got eight kills, said Nickel. She sparked us and got our offense going.
Boyce, the only Redbird freshman, let her ears help her hitting.
I just listened to the back-row players and tried to hit around the block, said Boyce. Mo (Megan OConnell) was doing a good job behind me calling the block so I could find the spot.
In game one, the Redbirds pulled away from a 5-5 tie with back-to-back service points by Jackie Utz. The Birsd were up 9-5 when Becky Weber stepped to the service line and fired-off six straight service points including an ace.
Bradley got the upper hand in game two by scoring five unanswered points to take a 9-3 lead. ISU eventually closed to 10-7 when Weber slammed an overpass, but the Braves made the Birds serve seven times for point No. 8.
Boyce came off the bench in game three for eight kills as Illinois State came back from a 13-8 deficit before scoring the final seven points. The rally began with three Weber service points and ended with two by Erin Jones.
ISU led 5-4 in game four when Abby Davidson served six unanswered points to put Bradley up 10-5. Three more Redbird hitting errors put the Braves up 13-5. Jonna Burchett started a rally with six straight service points. Davidsons kill made it 14-11 and each team served six times before Hardwick put down the winning point.
We wanted to end on a high note. We played a good match and just came up short, said Scott Luster, Bradleys coach. We wanted to make the tournament and I think you should take eight teams, but that didnt happen.
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