Aug. 26, 2005
Final Stats
NORMAL, Ill. -
Savannah Knowles had 20 kills, Ashley Grubb had 24 digs and Manoela Viera DaCunha came off the bench for 14 kills for Illinois State, but it wasn't enough for the Redbirds to overcome a Redbird Arena record 39 kills by Illinois' Rachel VanMeter as the Illini prevailed for a 30-24, 30-19, 23-30, 30-21, 15-11 victory in the season opener for both teams, Friday at Redbird Arena.
VanMeter and the Illini took advantage of 10 Redbird hitting errors in game two to take a 2-0 lead in the match, but Knowles, Viera DaCunha and company battled back to win games three and four going away. Knowles had eight kills in game three for the Redbirds, who were led by freshman setter Erin Lindsey's 43 set assists for the night. In game four, the Redbird defense dug in as Grubb collected nine digs to help the Redbird offense in transition.
But game five started with three Redbird hitting errors and ISU fell behind 6-2 early. A service ace by Erin Lindsey closed the gap to 9-8, but the Illini scored three in a row and moved to victory in front of a crowd of 3,259, the 11th largest in Redbird Arena history.
Knowles saluted VanMeter's night as the Illinois senior broke a record shared by two other visiting players set 10 and 14 years ago.
"She's tall, and jumps high, and is athletic, and gets a lot of swings," said Knowles. "She got the swings when she needed them."
Redbird coach Sharon Dingman also appreciated VanMeter's performance.
"We didn't have the answer for Rachel," said Dingman. "She hit shots tonight we haven't seen."
Dingman also praised Lindsey, the first freshman to start her first match at setter for Illinois State since 1986.
"Erin Lindsey passed my test tonight," said Dingman. "She got a little rattled in the second game, but she regained her composure. She has played for national championships at every level. Tonight, she was starting her college career against Illinois in front of 3,000 fans and performed well."
Dingman had mixed emotions about the outcome.
"I'm disappointed (we lost) and I'm excited (we came back) all at the same time," said Dingman. "Our bench was great. I think Illinois is going to have a great team, and I think Illinois State is going to have a great team. We're excited going into our tournament next week."
The Redbirds remain at home next week, trying to retain the Barker GMC Classic championship. ISU plays Kent State at 7 p.m. Friday, Western Illinois at noon on Saturday and Western Kentucky at 7 p.m. Saturday.
