Oct. 29, 2005
Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. -
Left side hitters Savannah Knowles and Laura Doornbos combined for 28 kills and hit .373 for Illlinois State in a 30-23, 30-21, 30-21 win over Southern Illinois in a Missouri Valley Conference match Saturday at Redbird Arena.
The win for Illinois State, 15-8, 11-2 in the Valley, guarantees ISU a place in the six-team State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, making the Redbirds the only Valley team to play in all 24 conference tournaments. Knowles had 15 kills and Doornbos added 13.
Southern Illinois, 9-14, 5-8, dropped its 29th straight regular-season match to Illinois State, as the Redbirds are 55-5 all-time against SIU. The only Saluki victory in the series since 1990 was in the 2002 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in Peoria.
Doornbos had seven kills in game one as Illinois State pulled away from an 11-11 tie with a 7-0 run fueled by Erin Lindsey's serving and three Doornbos kills.
Knowles took over the hitting with eight of ISU's first 14 kills in game two. Lindley McDavid backed Knowles' play with all of her career-high four service aces as the `Birds built a 28-15 lead. SIU rallied with six straight points before Mary Catherine Richmond's kill and an SIU ballhandling error gave ISU a 2-0 lead in games. The `Birds hit .417 in game two.
SIU's only lead of the night was 1-0 in game three, but ISU took an 8-7 lead on a hitting error and Knowles served four more points including an ace to give ISU a 13-7 lead. ISU finished that game hitting .378 and earning a lead as large as 27-19.
Doornbos thought her team was locked in on what it had to do.
"Our focus was a lot better," said Doornbos. "We knew what to expect a little and really maintain focus on our side of the end. It was a huge game tonight. They were looking for their ticket to the Valley Tournament and we were looking to keep our No. 2 spot (seed)."
The `Birds, in second place in the Valley, would qualify for one of two byes in the six-team State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Nov. 25-26 in Cedar Falls. Wichita State leads the league, but ISU is second after its 11th straight conference victory.
Head coach Sharon Dingman liked the fact that her team got ahead and stayed ahead most of the night.
"We've gotten three or five point leads on teams and let them come back to tie it," said Dingman. "Tonight we got the lead and kept the lead."
The Redbirds return to the road in the Missouri Valley, starting November with a match Friday at Bradley and another Saturday at Northern Iowa.
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