Sept. 13, 2005
St. Louis natives Mary Catherine Richmond and Erin Lindsey battled each other on high school and club volleyball courts for years, but now they are teaming at Illinois State, starting and playing key roles for the Redbirds as freshmen. The challenges only get bigger as the Redbirds begin the 2005 Missouri Valley Conference season with a road trip to preseason No. 1 pick and defending champion Wichita State and to Missouri State, picked second in the same poll.
Richmond played for Lindbergh High School and St. Louis CYC volleyball club. Lindsey played at Eureka High School and for Team St. Louis.
"It was always a rivalry between us and our teams in high school and club," said Richmond. "I wanted to beat them ... badly. Now Erin and I are teammates, roommates and more like sisters. It has become a good friendship and I think we connect on the court as well."
The Redbirds, 4-3 and Shockers, 5-2 start league play at 7 p.m. Friday at Koch Arena, where 5-2 WSU has been drawing bigger crowds than ever. Missouri State (formerly Southwest Missouri State) is 6-3 and is also among the top 20 in the nation in home attendance (along with ISU, WSU and Northern Iowa).
But that shouldn't faze Richmond, the Redbirds' starter at the right side position, and Lindsey, the Redbird setter and reigning Valley Freshman of the Week.
In just their first three weeks of college play, Richmond and Lindsey have earned the confidence of Redbird coach Sharon Dingman.
"Our two freshmen are unbelievably skilled," said Dingman, who called plays for Richmond during time outs with the scores deep in the 20s last weekend. "She can perform at 29-29. When I called those plays, I didn't think about her being a freshman--I just thought of her as a player who can make that play. She can."
Lindsey is setting a Redbird offense averaging more than 15 kills per game. In a 3-0 win over Akron last weekend, the Redbirds had 21 kills in each game and hit .485 as a team--the fifth highest match hitting total in ISU volleyball history.
"Erin is athletic," said Dingman. "She is studying physics and in the honors program so we know she is smart. We have confidence in her."
Lindsey is No. 2 in the Missouri Valley in set assists and Richmond is No. 6 in hitting percentage. Dingman thinks they will only get better.
"I think we not only have two of the better freshmen in the Valley, but maybe in the nation," said Dingman.
The Redbird coach is thrilled to see four Valley teams in the Top 20 in home attendance this week.
"I know they are getting great crowds at Wichita, and we always see 1,000 or more at Missouri State," said Dingman. "If you ask our players, they will tell you that Northern Iowa is one of their favorite places to play because of the crowds. But, still, there are no fans quite like Redbird fans. They are the best. But it's also great to see other Valley teams drawing great crowds. It's good for our league and good for our sport."
From Springfield, Illinois State comes home to meet Drake in a special 8 p.m. start Friday, Sept. 23 at Redbird Arena. Then ISU plays host to Creighton at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25.
