Sept. 29, 2006
Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State's volleyball team suffered its first Missouri Valley Conference home loss Friday night, as unbeaten Creighton used a balanced offensive attack to defeat the up start Redbirds in four games (30-27, 28-30, 30-26, and 30-19) here at Redbird Arena. It was Creighton's first win over Illinois State since the 2001 season, and just the fourth in the 27 all-time meetings between the two programs.
With the loss, the Redbirds drop to 6-9 on the season with a 1-4 Valley slate. Creighton improves to 12-3 and 4-0.
Illinois State was led by Lindley McDavid's 18 kills. Creighton's Amanda Cvejdlik and Kelly Goc combined for 39 kills in the win.
"They [Creighton] had 13 hitting errors in game three, and we couldn't capitalize on that," said head coach Sharon Dingman. "The fact that they scored 13 points for us in one game and that we couldn't win with that on our side tells the story of tonight. Things got away from us in games three and four."
In game one, the Blue Jays took the lead for good after going up 6-5 in the early stages. They led 15-9 after completing a 12-5 run, and forced the Redbirds into their first timeout. Illinois State battled back to tie the match at 22-22 after a kill by Peggy Riessen, but the Blue Jays closed the stanza on an 8-4 spurt, and sealed the 30-27 win. Creighton's Korie Lebeda had two kills in the final three points to prevent the `Birds from drawing any closer.
Illinois State used a 4-0 run mid-way through game two to claim a commanding lead, and held on for the 30-28 win. The Redbirds broke a 4-4 tie by posting a quick 4-0 run. Erin Lindsey had two kills in the stretch, and Staehlin collected her second service ace of the match to give the `Birds the 8-4 lead. The advantage grew to as many as six points three times in the stanza before the Blue Jays mounted a comeback to pull within one, 29-28. But McDavid's sixth kill of the frame proved to be the game-winner.
Game three was a back-and-forth affair for the first 40 points, but Creighton broke a 21-21 tie with a 4-0 spurt that gave them the lead for good. There were a combined 18 ties and lead changes in the game, but six Blue Jay kills in the final 15 points allowed Creighton to pull away with the four-point victory.
The Blue Jays won running away in game four, building as much as a 14-point advantage in the frame's first 25 possessions. The Redbirds pulled within single digits just four times over the stanza's last 25 points, as Creighton clinched the 30-19 win on Cvejdlik's 17th kill.
The Redbirds will be back at Redbird Arena tomorrow (Saturday) for a 7 p.m. match against Drake, who dropped a 3-1 decision at Indiana State Friday night.
