Oct. 27, 2006
Box Score
DES MOINES, Iowa - Illinois State's middle blocker tandem of Kari Staehlin and Katie Seyller combined for 20 kills and five blocks in the front row to lead the Redbirds to their third consecutive sweep over a Missouri Valley Conference foe, ousting host Drake in convincing fashion (30-22, 30-18 and 30-19) here at the Knapp Center Friday night.
With the win, the Redbirds clinch the season sweep over Drake, and extend their season-long winning streak to four matches. Illinois State improves to 13-10 on the season with a 7-5 league slate. Drake drops to 4-18 and 1-10. Dating back to the 1996 season, the `Birds have now captured the last 22 meetings against Drake.
Offensively, Staehlin collected a match-high 12 kills on a season-best .688 hitting percentage. Seyller had eight kills on 16 swings (.375), and Jessie Janik and M.C. Richmond recorded six kills a piece. Erin Lindsey ran a crisp offensive effort with 30 set assists. Defensively, the `Birds out dug the Bulldogs, 58-to-40, led by Kasey Mollerus' 17 digs.
"We are playing very well right now," said head coach Sharon Dingman. "We've got ourselves on a roll, and we just need to stay with what has been working the last week and a half. I thought our serving was great tonight, and we did a good job of understanding what Drake's defense was trying to do against us."
Illinois State broke a tie mid-way through game one with a 6-1 run, and pulled away for a 30-21 win. Both teams traded points for the first 12 possessions of the frame before the Redbirds strung together a 3-0 spurt paced by a kill and assisted block by Richmond to claim a 9-6 lead. Five points later, Illinois State forced Drake into its first timeout after jumping up by four, 12-8. The Bulldogs answered with a 5-1 run out of the break to tie the game at 13-13. Drake recorded two blocks in the spurt. Illinois State quickly reclaimed the lead with an ensuing 6-1 spurt to push the score to 19-14. McDavid had a stuff block, and Lindsey recorded her 50th career service ace to jump start the run. ISU did not let the Bulldogs get any closer than four points for the remainder of the stanza. The Redbirds enjoyed an advantage as large as eight points down the stretch, and forced game point at 29-21 following a kill by Katie Seyller. Richmond sealed the win two points later with her third kill of the match.
Illinois State overcame a quick start by the Bulldogs, and used a 10-0 run to help post a running away, 30-18 victory in game two. Drake jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, and extended their lead to 5-3 after Megan Veltman's fourth kill of the match. But the Redbirds answered with three consecutive kills to claim their first lead of the game, 6-5. Illinois State started a 10-0 run three points later, and stretched their lead to 17-9. Seyller had two blocks and a kill in the spurt. The Bulldogs pulled back within five points (19-14) seven possessions later, but Illinois State ended the game on a 12-2 run to seal the 30-18 victory and 2-0 in the best-of-five.
Illinois State jumped out an early 4-0 lead in game three and never looked back, coasting to the 30-19 win. With Seyller behind the service line mid-way through the game, the Redbirds strung together an 8-0 run to claim a commanding 18-7 lead and pull away. Staehlin recorded two blocks in the spurt.
The Redbirds will be back in action tomorrow night, when they travel to Creighton for the second meeting in the season series. The Bluejays recorded a four-game win over the Redbirds on Sept. 29.
