Sept. 1, 2006
Final Stats
HOUSTON, Texas - There were a myriad of milestones set for the Illinois State volleyball team in its five-game, come-from-behind win over Texas San-Antonio in the first round of the Holiday Inn Select/Rice Invitational here at Autry Court Friday afternoon. The Redbirds rebounded from a 2-0 deficit in the match, and fought off six UTSA match points to upend the Roadrunners (20-30, 28-30, 31-29, 30-26, and 17-15) for their second consecutive win.
The win was number 300 for ISU head coach Sharon Dingman, while middle blockers Kristin Dziubla and Lindley McDavid set career-highs with 16 and 15 kills, respectively. Dziubla also hit a match-high .483, and recorded a career-high nine digs in a starting role. Setter Erin Lindsey was just one set shy of her career-best, finishing with 64 assists and a career-high 21 digs.
Manoela Vieira DaCunha, inserted as a starting outside hitter in game three, recorded 20 digs, while also tallying eight kills. Freshman libero Kasey Mollerus added a career-high 23 digs. Freshman Katie Seyller came off the bench to contribute a career-best six kills, including two in the final three points of the decisive fifth game.
"It feels great to get this win, especially for these players," said Dingman. "To be in this situation early in the season, having to dig ourselves out of a hole, is good for our young team. You can't say enough about our bench, they really stepped up today. Manoela, Katie [Seyller] and Kristin Dziubla were all huge for us."
UTSA's Meagan Daniel, the only player in Roadrunner history to be named first-team all-Southland Conference three years running, led all scorers with 23 kills while hitting .242. Connie Picard added 16 kills in the setback.
UTSA seemed to be in complete control of the match after two games, and the Redbirds had to come up with a gritty effort in game three to give themselves a chance to complete a comeback.
The Redbirds never led in game one, as UTSA claimed a 30-20 triumph. The Roadrunners jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the early stages on five kills, one each from seniors Connie Picard and Meagan Daniel along with freshman Shannon Walker. But the Redbirds surged back to pull within one (8-7) nine points later paced by three consecutive points, including two kills by M.C. Richmond and an Erin Lindsey service ace. But seven points later, the Roadrunners jumped out to a 14-10 lead, and the Redbirds couldn't pull any closer for the remainder of the stanza. Behind the serving of Walker, UTSA claimed seven consecutive points, and extended their lead to 21-12. The `Birds could get no closer than eight points the rest of the way. Daniel led the Roadrunners with five kills, while Richmond and Staehlin countered with three kills for the Redbirds. Lindsey had 12 set assists, but ISU hit just .045 in the game.
The `Birds stepped up their defense in game two, but eventually fell in a tightly contested battle, 30-28. UTSA jumped out to an early 5-2 advantage; but ISU tied the match at 7-7 after four consecutive points behind the serving of Lindsey. After that point, the stanza featured a combined 10 ties and lead changes. The `Birds took their first lead of the match at 19-18 when McDavid collected ISU's lone service ace of the game. They stretched the lead to two points three different times in the ensuing six points, but the Roadrunners reclaimed the advantage for good at 26-25 with a service ace by Daniel. She also clinched the win for UTSA with a kill to produce the final 30-28 score. The `Birds upped their hitting percentage to .167 in the frame, but the Roadrunners answered with a .201 mark.
The Redbirds took their opponent to extra points in game three for the first time this season, fighting off three game points and recording five consecutive points down the stretch to claim the 31-29 win. Neither team led by more than two points until UTSA jumped out to a commanding 25-20 lead after three consecutive Redbird errors. But ISU stormed back by claiming five of the next seven points, and tied the game at 26-26. The Roadrunners forced game point at 29-26, but DaCunha (who started the game) and Dziubla combined on back-to-back blocks to knot the score at 29-29. The Redbirds clinched the comeback victory with a block by Richmond and a game-clinching kill by Dziubla.
In game four, Dziubla recorded a game-high five kills as the `Birds opened up a two-point lead at 20-18 and never looked back. A kill by Seyller gave Illinois State the 27-23 lead, and McDavid tallied a kill and an assisted block (with Dziubla) to secure the 30--26 win.
The decisive fifth game saw the Roadrunners jump out to an 8-4 lead, but the `Birds fought back to tie the game at 9-9. UTSA regained the lead by as many as two points two more times, but Seyller gave the Redbirds life with a kill to tie the game at 15-15. DaCunha followed with a kill, and Seyller capped off the win with her sixth kill of the match after not playing in the first three games.
"It was intense out there today," said Seyller. "It was my first time starting a game (in game five) since I've been here, and I just wanted to come out with energy and play hard. I knew we needed some intensity in the fifth game, so I just tried to provide that tonight."
As mentioned, Dingman collected her 300th career in the match. While modest, she was proud to accomplish the feat.
"It is nice to get 300 wins, I think any coach would tell you that," Dingman said. "But it is more about what our team did this afternoon that is the story. It was a pretty incredible experience to watch them come back tonight."
