Illinois States first Missouri Valley Conference volleyball road trip of the season not only will be a change of pace, but a change of space. Evansvilles Carson Center Gym and aging Davies Gym at Southern Illinois both feature high, hard walls within 15 feet of the court--much tighter quarters than Redbird Arena or spacious Wisconsin Field House--the only two places the Redbirds have played so far this season.
But coach Sharon Dingman, whose Redbirds are 2-6 overall, 0-2 in the Missouri Valley, wants her freshman-laden squad to maintain its aggressiveness and not feel inhibited by the confining quarters of the smaller gyms in Fridays 7 p.m. match at Evansville and Saturdays 4 p.m. match at Southern Illinois. It will be the first league road trip for Dingmans six freshmen.
Really, I think its easier going from an arena to a gym, said Dingman. Its more difficult for the teams that practice and play at home in gyms and then have to play in an arena.
Having senior outside hitter Erin Jones, the teams leader in digs and service aces, available for at least part-time duty this weekend helps Illinois States chances to end a school-record six-match losing streak--four of those defeats at the hands of nationally-ranked teams.
We didnt think wed have Erin back until Wednesday, but she practiced on a limited basis (Monday), said Dingman. She took things upon herself. She said she was bored and called the doctor herself and he gave her the O.K. to do some things. But wed be thrilled to have Erin on the court, even in a limited capacity, this weekend.
Like the Redbirds, Evansville, 2-9 overall, 0-2 in the Valley, is experiencing the ups and downs of youth on the court. Freshmen like outside hitter Lacy Haller (UEs kill leader a 2.89 per game), middle blocker Allison Sample and setter Erica Haukap have shown promise. Consistency has been a problem. At Wichita State, the Aces split the first two games against an improved WSU squad before getting blown out 30-16, 30-19 in the last two. The week before, coach Mark Hardaways charges lost games one and three to UMKC by 30-17 and 30-15, but won games two and four before dropping a dramatic game five, 19-17.
UE is similar to us, said Dingman. They can be different teams from game-to-game. You want to get over that hump. They are like us--we have to figure out how to win the match.
Despite the losing streak, Dingman has no second-thoughts about playing one of the nations toughest schedules the first three weeks of the season.
The players look to me to respond to that and I said on Sunday I feel like were having a good season, said Dingman. Except for one game against Texas A&M and one game against Bradley, weve played very well. And I think this team is getting better.
Sonya Locke, the dean of Valley volleyball coaches, heads a Southern Illinois team headed for its best season since 1998 when the Salukis were 19-12. SIU, 7-4 overall, 1-1 in the Valley, is packed with experience (6 seniors) and firepower (Kristie Kemner 4.07 kills per game, Lindsey Schultz 3.64 kills per game). Kemner is on a pace to become just the 16th player in Missouri Valley history to reach 1,500 career kills (she has 1,258 entering this weekends play). Schultz, who carries a .342 hitting percentage and averages 1.19 blocks per game, was the Valley Player of the Week after leading her team to the Southwest Texas Bobcat Classic championship the opening week of the season.
Southern has done some good things for our league and our league RPI, said Dingman. They have seniors who have been on the court for three years and they are playing like seniors.
