Senior Jenny Kabbes had 12 kills in 21 attempts without an error and a match-high seven blocks to lead Illinois State to a 30-27, 30-25, 30-29 win over Evansville Friday at Carson Center Gym in a Missouri Valley Conference volleyball match.
Redbird coach Sharon Dingman was glad to see her team overcome errors which put the Redbirds behind 26-24 late in game one and knotted at 21-21 in game two. Passing made a difference.
"When we were able to get quality passes to (setter) Kelly (Rikli), we got the kind of sets which allowed us to be physical at the net," said Dingman. "Certainly, Jenny was in position to get a lot of those when we needed them. Jenny put on a show."
Kabbes, who was 9 for 12 without an error in the first two games, said she saw a lot of daylight before she hit the ball.
"I saw a lot of open space to hit the ball," said Kabbes. "Kelly did a great job of getting me the ball and setting me up for a lot of different shots. It felt good."
Freshman Ashley Grubb added to the Redbird attack, which hit a season-best .404 for the match, with 15 kills of her own, a career high. Seven of Grubb's 15 kills came in game three when the Redbirds hit .483 as a team.
Brooke Krodel and Anna Nies led the aCes with 12 kills apiece. UE had a 37-32 dig advantage, but the 'Bird ruled the net with a 12-4 edge in team blocks.
Kabbes six block assists tied her for second place on the all-time Redbird career block assist list with 374, the same number as Michelle Rucker had from 1991-94. Only Kendra Haselhorst, Kabbes' ex-teammate, had more career block assists.
Senior Erin Jones returned to the Illinois State lineup after missing three matches because of illness. Jones played in two games and recorded 3 kills in 6 attempts without an error.
"She made such a difference for us on the court," said Dingman. "She is such a great stablizing factor on the court. And she played well, too."
The Redbirds, 3-6 overall, 1-2 in the Missouri Valley, stopped a school-record six match losing streak and extended their dominance over Evansville in the series to 17-0.
The Aces dropped their ninth in a row to fall to 2-10 overall, 0-3 in the Valley.
Illinois State plays at 4 p.m. Saturday against Southern Illinois in Davies Gym.
