Sept. 23, 2005
Final Stats
NORMAL, Ill. -
Box Score
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Junior Manoela DaCunha had 15 kills and Laura Doornbos added 14 as the Illinois State volleyball team defeated Drake three games to one in (30-14, 30-19, 22-30, 30-20) in a Missouri Valley Conference volleyball match Friday at Redbird Arena.
The Redbirds, 6-6, 1-2 in the Valley, won their league home opener for the 18th time in 23 conference seasons and beat the Bulldogs for the 41st time in 46 meetings and for the 19th straight time in a streak which began in 1996. The Bulldogs, 0-12, 0-3 in the Valley got a match-high 19 kills from Megan Veltman, who had 16 of those in the final two games as Drake rallied from a rocky start.
Kristin Dziubla, making her first college start, had six kills and had a hand in six of 14 Redbird blocks.
Junior Savannah Knowles led the Redbird attack with seven kills in game one, many of them with Doornbos at the service line. Doornbos, who served 10 of ISU's 30 game-one points, also notched five kills, with freshman Erin Lindsey serving up 14 assists and three digs. Doornbos' first of two five-point service stands helped ISU take an 8-1 lead, and Drake wasn't close the rest of the way.
Head coach Sharon Dingman saw leadership from the three Redbird seniors--Doornbos, Emily Kabbes and Ashley Grubb--in game one.
"I'm so happy that we have three seniors on our team," said Dingman. "They know how important conference play is. They were definitely more focused on the floor as they provided us with some key plays early in the match."
Game two saw DaCunha spark the `Birds, coming off the bench to tally seven kills as Dingman got 13 players court time in the first two games. Drake was as close as 13-12 before a Doornbos kill and service ace sparked a 10-2 Redbird sprint to put the game away.
Drake came out in game three with an early 9-3 lead and never looked back. The Bulldogs had 16 team kills, with Megan Veltman having eight. Drake led game three as much as 20-10, until a late Redbird rally cut the lead to 29-22.
The Redbirds got their game back on track in game four behind a balanced attack that featured four kills each from DaCunha and Mary Catherine Richmond, plus three by Doornbos and Kabbes, who had 10 for the match.
Doornbos' second kill in game one enabled her to move into 10th place on the Redbird career kill list. She surpassed current assistant coach Jenny Kabbes Fuente, who had 1,167 from 1997 to 2001. Doornbos finished the night with 14 kills, giving her 1,180 for her career.
Doornbos felt that a change in her approach to serve has helped her become more successful behind the line with four aces and just one error against Drake.
"The coaches have been telling me to stay aggressive on the serving," said Doornbos. "I changed something in my approach. I found a rhythm and it seems to be helping. I like it better."
Drake head coach Amy Farber Knowles was quick to praise the Redbirds after the game, noting that Illinois State has established a great program. Earlier in the evening, volleyball pioneering coach and administrator Linda Herman was inducted into the Illinois State Athletics Hall of Fame.
"Illinois State does a great job running a division one volleyball program," said Knowles. "They do everything in a classy way. Every team in the Missouri Valley Conference should do it like they do here at ISU."
The Redbirds played without the services of sophomore middle blocker Kari Staehlin, their top percentage hitter. Staehlin is sidelined with a fractured toe on her right foot. She is listed as doubtful for Illinois State's next match, a 2 p.m. Sunday
