Oct. 21, 2005
Final Stats
Omaha, Neb. -
Kari Staehlin matched her career high with 22 kills and Ashley Grubb had 26 digs as Illinois State rebounded from a 15-point loss in game four to beat Creighton 28-30, 30-27, 30-19, 15-30, 15-11 in a Missouri Valley Conference volleyball match Friday.
The hockey ice below the court created a frigid Omaha Civic Auditorium where the match time temperature was estimated at about 50 degrees. Creighton broke the ice in game one as ISU battled back from a five-point deficit to take a five-point lead, 22-17. ISU led 24-21 when the Jays went on a run which featured three Kelly Goc kills and took a 1-0 games lead. In a comeback mindful of ISU's 30-11 loss in game four to Western Kentucky earlier this year. ISU came back to win that match with a 15-12 game-five victory--it was WKU's only loss in the Toppers' first 20 matches.
ISU rebounded in game two behind five kills by Laura Doornbos to square the match. A three-point Savannah Knowles service stand late included an ace and allowed ISU to finish the game and tie the match. Kari Staehlin had seven kills in seven attempts to lead Illinois State to a game-three win as the `Birds hit .419 as a team with 21 kills.
Game four was never close. CU led by as many as 27-9 as the `Birds couldn't change the momentum and put more than two points in a row together until late in the game.
With Manoela Vieira DaCunha serving to start game five, ISU got on top 4-2 behind two kills by Staehlin. Creighton rallied to take a 5-4 lead but the `Birds roared back with a kill by Erin Lindsey, back-to-back kills by Doornbos, who finished with 16, and an Emily Kabbes kill set up by a Knowles pancake dig and ISU led 8-5. They kept the Jays at bay the rest of the way, earning match point on just the fifth Bluejay service error of the night.
The Redbirds, 12-7, 8-2 in the Valley, won their eighth straight conference match, the longest in ISU Valley win streak since 2000 when the `Birds won 10 in a row and finished 15-3.
The Bluejays, 10-11, 4-6 in the Valley, have won just three times in 26 meetings with Illinois State.
Grubb's first dig in game one made her the fifth player in Illinois State history to reach 1,000 career digs. Grubb was the Valley leader in digs per game heading into the weekend with 4.79 per game. As usual, she stepped up with leadership heading into game five.
"If we are going to win conference, we had to win this game," said Grubb, who later admitted she was the speaker she was quoting. "We needed this game and it was said to the freshmen and everybody in the huddle."
Dingman knew her seniors would step up.
"I just tried to show the team that I was calm," said Dingman. "But we had people step up in game five. I thought Laura's kills were big. Game four just wasn't Redbird volleyball, but game five we felt a sense of intensity and urgency."
The `Birds had 77 kills to Creighton's 62 and the Jays had 97 digs to ISU's 95. Kabbes had 15 kills and Knowles had 11, while Knowles and Lindsey had 16 digs apiece.
"The digs were huge," said Dingman. "Sometimes, it seemed like we couldn't put a ball away, but sometimes we were making the digs."
The Redbirds complete their four-match home stand with a 7 p.m. Monday match-up against Notre Dame, the No. 10 team in the nation, at Redbird Arena.
