Nov. 24, 2006
Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. -- For the third time this season, Illinois State's volleyball team dropped a four-game decision to Creighton, as the No. 4 Bluejays ended the fifth-seeded Redbirds' season (30-15, 30-23, 33-35, 30-21) in the quarterfinal round of the 2006 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Redbird Arena Friday morning.
Creighton improves to 21-9 on the season, and advances to tonight's 5 p.m. semifinal, where they will face top-seeded Northern Iowa. Illinois State ends the season with an overall record of 17-13 (11-7 MVC).
Creighton junior Kelly Goc collected a match-high 22 kills with a .379 hitting percentage, and Jessica Houts added 15 kills. The Redbirds were led by M.C. Richmond's 16 kills. Senior outside hitter Lindley McDavid contributed 12 kills in her final match at Redbird Arena.
"Creighton played a very good match today," said Illinois State head coach Sharon Dingman. "They have been a tough match up for us all season. I'm very proud of my team. After starting the Valley season 4-5, they finished 7-2 in the second half of the conference schedule. That is something (their record to finish the season) they (ISU players) can always take with them.
"Goc had a really good match today. They (Creighton) have a really good system that gets everyone involved and she (Goc) is definitely their No. 1 option."
Creighton used an 8-0 run mid-way through game one to clinch a 30-15, running away victory. The Bluejays jumped out to the early 15-8 lead, forcing Dingman into her first timeout. The Redbirds won three of the ensuing six points, but Creighton extended its advantage to double-digits seven points later (23-13) after a kill by Amanda Cvejdlik. The Redbirds fell behind by as many as 14 points down the stretch, as Creighton finished the stanza on an 11-1 spurt behind the serving of Sara Schulze. The Bluejays out hit the Redbirds, .257 to .-057 in the game.
Creighton carried over the momentum to the early stages of game two, jumping out to a 6-0 advantage. The Redbirds answered with an 11-6 surge to pull within one, 12-11, but the Bluejays recorded an ensuing 4-0 run to claim a commanding 16-11 advantage. Illinois State never got any closer than two points for the remainder of the stanza. Creighton forced game point at 29-22, and after ISU fought off one game point, Houts put the finishing touches on the 30-23 win with her sixth kill.
Illinois State fought off three game points in the late stages of game four, and outlasted the Bluejays, 35-33. Creighton again claimed the early advantage, jumping out to a 6-3 lead before the Redbirds stormed back to tie the score at 7-7 five points later. There were a combined eight ties and lead changes in the ensuing 12 possessions before ISU went on a 4-1 run to claim their largest lead of the match, 17-14. The `Birds held onto the lead for the next 18 points, but the Bluejays quickly regained the lead (25-24) after a kill by Cvejdlik. After a kill by Emily Greish gave Creighton a 29-28 lead, the `Birds fought off three match points in the ensuing six possessions before they took a 32-31 lead after a service ace by senior Manoela DaCunha. Illinois State closed out the win with back-to-back kills by McDavid and Richmond.
In the decisive fourth game, Creighton jumped out to a 10-2 lead, and never looked back in coasting to a 30-21 match-clinching win. Behind the serving of Goc, the Bluejays went on an early 7-0 spurt. After falling behind by ten (18-8), Illinois State tallied a 6-0 run to pull within five, 18-13, but Creighton answered with a 6-1 spurt to extend the advantage to 23-14. The Bluejays used kills by Goc, Houts and Lauren Bloemke down the stretch to clinch 30-21 win.
Dingman was optimistic about the outlook for next season, as the Redbirds will return 10 of their 14 letter winners, including all five of their 2006 all-MVC selections.
"I'm very excited about next season and I think every team in the Valley should be," Dingman said. "With only two seniors on the all-conference team, there is a lot returning talent to the league. We are a really good league that should get a few teams into this year's NCAA tournament. Hopefully we'll be able to use the momentum from this season to help us next year."
