Sharon Dingmans analysis of her teams chances in the 2001 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Tournament Friday and Saturday are linked to location: the matches are all at Redbird Arena, where her Illinois State team has had most of its success this season.
Lets face it, said Dingman, whose 15-13 Redbirds meet 14-12 Creighton at 12:30 p.m. Friday in the second of two first-round matches. Were glad to be home because its been clear that weve been much more successful at home this season.
The Birds are 10-3 at Redbird Arena, including a nine-match winning streak. Theyre just 5-10 outside Redbird Arena, but Dingman thinks the advantages go beyond having four all-conference players--setter
Becky Weber, middle blocker
Jenny Kabbes, plus outside hitters
Megan O'Connell and
Abby Lewis--in the starting lineup.
Redbird Arena is a great place to play, said Dingman, referring to Illinois States status as one of the nations leaders in fan support. Our fans have been great and we believe a lot of them will be out there for the tournament not only to see us play, but to see the great volleyball being played in our conference. And right now, everyone in the tournament seems to be playing well.
To advance beyond the first round, Dingmans crew will have to deal with the Valleys top digging team, Creighton, which also features a skilled senior setter in Kailey Reyes and a pair of go-to hitters in Valley kill leader Melissa Walsh and Erin Swanson.
The Jays beat back a Redbird comeback in Omaha to win in five games Sept. 21. Illinois State took the Jays in four Oct. 20 in Redbird Arena. The Redbirds have won 13 of 16 previous meetings, but this is generally acknowledged as the best team in Creighton history.
But one measure of the overall improvement of the Valley this season is that the Redbirds--traditionally one of the two best teams in the league--are the No. 5 seed.
Dingman believes that one of the uniquenesses of volleyball is how much the quality of play improves as the season progresses.
We only have a couple of weeks before the season starts to get ready, so you dont have the preparation time that basketball has (about a month) and sports like baseball and softball, which have fall seasons, said Dingman. Its similar to football in that regard--you see better execution later in the season.
The hard part of being seeded No. 3 through No. 6 is that it takes two wins on Friday to get to the championship match. The winner of the Illinois State-Creighton match meets No. 1 seed (and No. 17-ranked) Northern Iowa at 7:30 p.m. The winner of the 10 a.m. No. 3 seed Bradley vs. No. 6 Indiana State match meets No. 2 seed Southwest Missouri State at 5 p.m.
