As far as the State Farm-Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Tournament is concerned, Illinois State coach Sharon Dingman believes The Byes Have It and Fridays matches, including Illinois State at Evansville, will go a long way toward creating the potential road to the No. 2 seedand a bye to the semifinalsfor the Redbirds.
Getting a No. 1 or No. 2 seed, and the bye into Friday night, is so important to winning the Valley Tournament, said Dingman. The numbers support Dingmans theory. Since the tournament went to six teams, no seed below a No. 2 has won it. In 18 semi-final matches played in those nine tournaments, the bye teams are 16-2.
Illinois State, 17-8 overall, 9-5 and tied for fourth place in the Valley, trails both SMS and UNI by one in the loss column with two weeks left in the conference season. Illinois State can still claim the No. 2 seed, though in the following scenario:
Illinois State wins its final four league matches.
SMS loses at Wichita State.
UNI loses at Creighton.
Indiana State loses at Southern Illinois.
Why is Friday so important? Because the last three matches on that list all take place on Friday. If all that happensand the Birds win their other three matches--the worst-case scenario for ISU would have the Redbirds winning a three-way tiebreaker for the No. 2 seed because they would have swept fifth-place Creighton (which would have a win over UNI) and sixth-place Southern Illinois (which beat SMS earlier this season). The head-to-head tiebreaker would be a wash, with each team beating the other two at home.
Although there are still other possibilities in Illinois States favor, they become less likely after Friday.
Why is a bye such an advantage?
Particularly at that time of the season, it is so hard to play and win two matches in one day, said Dingman, referring to a schedule which pits the No. 3 and No. 6 seeds, then the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in late morning/early afternoon matches before the semi-finals the same night. For a No. 3 seed or lower to win the tournament, the team must win three matches in 32 hours or less.
Its one thing to play two matches in one day like most teams do in September, said Dingman. But when youve already played 30 matches, that second match becomes a lot harderplus, youre playing your second match in six hours and the other (bye) team is playing its first match in six or seven days. Its certainly possible to win the tournament from a No. 3 seed or lower but it hasnt happened yet.
The Redbirds 3-1 win over SMS Saturday got ISU back in the hunt for a bye thanks to one of the best ISU defensive efforts in recent memory. Paige White got 31 digs for the second time in as many weeks as the team picked up 92. Jessie Janik, who chased errant digs to nearly every edge of the Redbird Arena court, had 18 digs while Ashley Grubb had 17 and Savannah Knowles 16. Kelly Rikli had 11 kills and 58 set assists one day after ending a Wichita State loss on the bench. ISU won in four games, putting the Birds back in the hunt for that No. 2 seed.
Wichita State, 14-1, is one win away from clinching its first Valley volleyball title and the No. 1 seed. Not only are the Shockers set-up to win their first title, but also are the host team for the tournament, Nov. 26-27 at Charles Koch Arena, the roundhouse. SMS and Northern Iowa have monopolized the byes the last three seasons, with UNI winning six straight tournament titlesthe first three coming in title match wins over Illinois State.
The final regular-season road trip sends the Birds Friday to Evansville for a 7 p.m. match and Saturday at Southern Illinois for a 3 p.m. encounter. Since UE joined the Valley in 1994, the Birds have made this trip 10 times and have won all 20 matchesbut the Aces and Salukis still have plenty to play for, too.
Evansville, 12-13, 5-9, is engaged in its own three-way battle for the No. 6and finalseed, now held by Southern Illinois, 9-17, 6-8. The Aces are tied with Indiana State one match behind SIU. The Salukis swept Evansville, so the Aces likely wont win a tiebreaker from SIU, but still are in the running for the final tourney spot with four matches left.
Its been an incredible year for the Valley, said Dingman. We have just two weeks left and so many teams still have so much to play for. For, this is where you want to be in Novemberevery match can get you closer to where you want to be.
And, at the Valley volleyball tournament, where you want to be is watching the first round on Friday morning.
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