Nov. 20, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. - After leading the Redbirds to record-setting back-to-back road wins over Wichita State and Missouri State last weekend, Illinois State junior middle blocker Kari Staehlin was tabbed the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week. It is the first weekly honor for Staehlin this season, and the third in the past four weeks for an Illinois State player.
Staehlin averaged 3.22 kills (29 total kills) and 1.44 blocks-per-game in helping the Redbirds shake up the 2006 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament field with consecutive victories over the Shockers (Nov. 17) and Bears (Nov. 18). She also hit at a .228 clip in the two matches. In the win over the Shockers, Staehlin had 16 kills, six digs and five block assists for a total of 19.5 points scored. In the victory over Missouri State, she had 13 kills on just 35 swings (.257 hitting percentage), eight block assists, seven digs, and four service aces to go along with 21.0 points.
Head coach Sharon Dingman was impressed with Staehlin's presence in the front row, and also behind the service line.
"Kari was a huge part of what was the biggest weekend of Redbird volleyball since I have been here," said Dingman. "She is one of the leaders on this team, and deserves a lot of the credit for our recent success.
"Every team we play knows that we are going to set Kari, and she continues to come up huge for us. She is certainly a strong presence in the front row, but I was incredibly impressed with her serving last weekend. She had four service aces against Missouri State, including a huge one in game five that put us up for good (13-12). Along with her kills and blocks, Kari's serving is an element of her game that opponents are going to have to start paying special attention to."
Staehlin ended the Valley regular season ranked seventh in hitting percentage (.271), sixth in kills (3.61 kpg), and 20th in service aces. She recorded double-digit kill efforts in 23 individual matches, including the last nine of the season.
Staehlin will lead the fifth-seeded Redbirds into the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Redbird Arena over Thanksgiving weekend (Nov. 24-25). The Redbirds will play #4 Creighton in the first-round Friday at 10 a.m.
