Savannah Knowles served eight points at the start of game three as Illinois State bounced back for a 30-25, 26-30, 30-18, 30-27 win over Bradley in a Missouri Valley Conference volleyball match at Redbird Arena.
Lindsey Stalzer led all players with 23 kills for Bradley, but ISU got balance from Laura Doornbos with 20, Kari Staehlin with 14, Emily Kabbes and Knowles with 10 each.
Kabbes helped the Birds start to pull away from a tight game one. With the score tied 17-17, Kabbes had a kill and a service ace to put ISU ahead 19-17. After Bradley scored on a Briony Hammet kill, Doornbos had two kills and a rocketing service ace in ISUs next four points as the Birds took a 23-19 lead and held on the rest of the way.
Lindsey Stalzer made the difference in game two, serving two aces during a 5-0 Bradley run as the Braves went from a 16-15 deficit to a 20-16 lead, one they never lost.
The Redbirds jump out to a big lead in game three on Knowles serving and continued to dominate by out-hitting Bradley .353 to 028 for the game. Doornbos had five kills in that game and seven more in game four, but it was Staehlin who helped the Birds put the match away in game four. The freshman middle drilled four consecutive kills to lead the Birds from a 25-24 deficit to a 28-25 Redbird lead.
We made some adjustments after the second game, said Dingman. We only had one block in the first two games and that was different for us. I was proud of the way we passed at the end because that is what we needed to finish.
Illinois State 8-2, 3-0 in the Missouri Valley, extended its current home-court winning streak to 12 matches in a row dating back to the 2003 season. The Birds beat Bradley for the 14th time in 16 meetings in Redbird Arena.
Bradley, 5-6, 0-2, hit just .101 for the game despite Stalzers .463 mark. Gillian Falknor had 16 digs to lead BU, while Ashley Grubbs 12 led ISU.
The Redbirds weekend home stand continues with Saturdays 7 p.m. match-up against preseason Valley co-favorite Northern Iowa. Prior to that match, more than 30 Redbird volleyball alumnae will gather at 1:30 p.m. to play a reunion match at Redbird Arena. Admission to the reunion match is free.
