Oct. 19, 2007
Final Stats
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -
M.C. Richmond tallied her 19th double-digit kill effort of the season, but Illinois State's volleyball team suffered its fourth three-game sweep (30-20, 30-24 and 30-24) of the season, as first-place Missouri State recorded its 20th win of the season at the Hammons Student Center Friday night. The loss snapped the Redbirds' previous four-match winning streak.
With the loss, ISU falls to 14-7 overall on the season, with a 6-4 Missouri Valley Conference mark. The Bears improve to 20-3 and 9-1.
ISU was led by Richmond and Peggy Riessen, who tallied 11 kills each. Erin Lindsey finished with 38 set assists, and Kasey Mollerus contributed a team-high 22 digs. The Bears were led by Jamie Adams (16 kills) and Sara Staubach, who combined for 31 kills. MSU hit .265 as a team, and committed just 12 errors on its 55 kills.
"We had some unforced errors tonight, but I thought Missouri State caused a lot of those, and played a great match," said head coach Sharon Dingman. "We got very impatient with our blocking, and had some breakdowns defensively. But I have to credit Missouri State. They did a great job attacking both our frontcourt and backcourt defense.
"We just weren't a very good volleyball team tonight at times. We have to turn around and focus on our match against Wichita State tomorrow. They are arguably playing better than anyone else in the Valley right now, so we have to be ready, and not let this match affect us mentally."
Missouri State took control mid-way through game one and coasted to a 30-20 win. The Bears jumped out to a 6-3 lead before ISU evened the score at 8-8 seven possessions later, with Kari Staehlin and Richmond combining for three kills. The Redbirds were forced into their first timeout eight possessions later after MSU put the finishing touches on a 7-2 run. The Bears' lead stretched to as large as nine points in the ensuing stages, before ISU recorded five kills and one block to cut the MSU advantage to seven, 26-19. The Bears finished the stanza on a 4-1 run to secure the 30-20 win. Staubach had seven kills for the Bears in the stanza, while ISU was led by Riessen's four kills. The Redbirds hit just .071 in the frame.
Missouri State took a commanding lead early in game two and fought off an ISU rally mid-way through the stanza to post a 30-24 win. The Bears broke a 4-4 tie with a 7-2 spurt to force the Redbirds into their first timeout, trailing 11-6. MSU held at least a four-point lead for the next 11 possessions, before the `Birds cut the edge to two, 21-19, after a service ace by Mallory Leggett. After forcing Missouri State into a timeout, ISU tied the match at 21-21 two points later. But a touch call and back-to-back ISU attack errors in the ensuing seven points gave the Bears a commanding 25-22 edge, their largest lead since holding a 21-18 advantage. After ISU used its final timeout, Missouri State finished the game on a 5-2 spurt to claim the 2-0 advantage in the best-of-five.
Both teams traded points for the first 16 points, before Illinois State went on a quick 4-2 spurt to claim a 12-10 lead. Missouri State responded with a 5-1 spurt, and re-claimed the advantage, 15-13. Following a timeout, the `Birds knotted the match at both 15-15 and 16-16, but MSU re-claimed the advantage for good just one-point later. After falling behind by five points, ISU cut the lead to two points twice in the final eight points, but Staubach had three kills in the final eight points to secure the sweep.
Illinois State will wrap up its road swing at Wichita State Saturday night. First serve from Charles Koch Arena is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
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