Laura Doornbos, Kelly Rikli and Paige White each enjoyed a record-setting night as Illinois State continued its winning ways against conference foe Creighton, winning 30-20, 30-20, 25-30, 30-28 in Missouri Valley Conference volleyball at Redbird Arena.
Doornbos needed 15 kills to reach the 1,000 kill pinnacle. She did even better than that, however, recording 18 kills to become the 5th junior and 14th individual overall in Redbird volleyball history to record 1,000 kills. With 40 set assists in tonights match alone, Rikli moved into second place on the Redbirds all-time set assist list, passing Stacey Anderson for the honor. White added another feat to the successful evening, as she became the 9th Redbird to record 400 digs in one season. Each of the three record setters credited their individual feats to one another, and the Redbird squad as a whole.
Thats not all me, thats definitely a team honor, said Doornbos. I had great setting and good defense, its all a team thing.
Rikli agreed with Doornbos.
I think whenever any individual gets an award of any kind its a reflection on the team, said Rikli, No. 14 in career set assists in Missouri Valley Conference history. These really arent just humble things that we say, its absolutely for real. There is no way that I could get an assist if someone else doesnt get a kill after it or a dig before it.
After going point-for-point with the Bluejays to start game one, the Birds exploded in a 7-1 run on the way to a 30-20 victory. Game two was a different story, however, as Illinois State used a pair of 6-0 runs to jump out to a 12-3 lead never letting Creighton within more than six points before winning 30-20. Creighton took control in game three, as the Birds had to fight for every point in a 30-25 loss. The Redbirds poured it on in game four, scrapping for every loose ball to win the game 30-28, and defend their home court with a final match score of 3-1.
The Redbirds, 20-8 overall, 12-5 in the Missouri Valley, already are the only team in Valley history to earn a bid in every State Farm-Missouri Valley Conference Tournament since they began in 1982 and are the only team in the Valley to have a winning league record every season since round-robin play began in 1983.
According to head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth the Bluejays, 18-9, 10-7 in the Valley, fell victim to their own vices in the match, as well as the consistency of the Illinois State team.
Tonight I thought we played like two different teams, said Booth. We were a bad Creighton team in the first two games, and a good Creighton team in the last two games. All excuses aside, one thing that Illinois State does so well is that they are just so consistent. Theyve played good volleyball every time weve seen them. I think thats a big credit to their coaching staff and to their players, and I for one have come to expect nothing less out of Illinois State than consistency every game.
One more win this weekend would enable the Birds to join Northern Iowa as the only two teams in 22 years of league round-robin play to reach 250 wins. Illinois State is 248-65 (.792). The Panthers are 272-42 (.866). Only SMS (232-81, .741) has a record over .500 among the other league teams.
The Redbirds finish their regular season at 7 p.m. Saturday against Drake at Redbird Arena. The Bluejays play at Indiana State.
###
