Aug. 15, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
Parity can certainly be deceiving. Despite returning a league-high five all-Missouri Valley Conference performers from last season, Illinois State's volleyball team was picked to finish fifth in the 2007 preseason Valley poll, as announced by the league's head coaches Wednesday. The building blocks of a competitive league race are in place, as MVC teams return 79 percent of their starters and liberos, including 11-of-13 first-and second-team all-conference players. The Redbirds' Erin Lindsey and M.C. Richmond were each named to the preseason eight-member all-conference squad.
For the second-consecutive season, defending State Farm MVC Tournament champion Northern Iowa (97 points) was picked to win the league title, collecting seven first-place votes. Wichita State garnered 85 points and one first-place vote en route to a second-place prognostication; Creighton totaled 81 points and two first-place tallies and was tabbed third; 2006 NCAA at-large participant Missouri State (71) was picked fourth overall, while the Redbirds were six points behind (65) the Bears to round out the top-five.
Southern Illinois (39) edged Evansville (38) for the sixth-place spot; Bradley was picked eighth with 33 points; Drake was ninth with 28 points, while Indiana State was picked 10th overall, tallying 13 total points.
ISU head coach Sharon Dingman was not surprised with her team being fifth, especially considering what returns in the Valley across the board.
"With a season coming up that will prove to be the best the Valley has ever had, and with the parity in the conference, I'm not sure how anyone separated the top five teams in the league this year - the only way to do that is to start the season and in a month, start playing each other," said Dingman. "In November, we'll see where everyone ends up. The one thing I do is that our team will compete hard every night and our fans will enjoy watching us play."
"Our leadership is strong. Almost every player on our team was here working out during the summer, and we are coming off a trip to Europe where we played some great competition. That combination of assets should lead to some exciting times for Redbird volleyball."
The Redbird offense will run through Lindsey, the 2005 Valley Freshman of the Year and 2006 all-MVC first-team honoree. The setter returns as ISU's career active leader in assists per game (12.51).
First-team all-Valley right side hitter Richmond returns for her junior campaign, and will anchor the front-row lineup. Richmond collected double-digit kill efforts in 23 individual matches, including the last seven of the season, and hit .300 or better in 11 outings.
Dingman will be looking to her two defending all-Valley first teamers to help the Redbirds contend for a championship, and adapt to more of a leadership role.
"Erin (Lindsey) and M.C. (Richmond) are going to be counted on heavily this season," Dingman said. "Each has matured in their leadership, their physical strength and their playing ability. They have very high expectations for this team and they, along with Kari Staehlin, will be the ones to guide us through the season on our way to achieving our goals. As juniors, they have a clear understanding of the demands of playing in the Missouri Valley Conference. We have five new student athletes in our program this fall and part of the responsibility Erin, M.C. and Kari shoulder is integrating the new players into our system and preparing them for college volleyball. I sleep peacefully at night knowing Erin and M.C. are leaders on our team."
Last season, Illinois State (17-13, 11-7 MVC) found itself in an unfamiliar spot. As one of the youngest teams in the Valley, the Redbirds stumbled to a 1-4 mark through the first five matches of the league slate. It wasn't until the second half of the Valley schedule that ISU began playing up to its expectations, where it compiled a 7-2 mark and entered its 25th-consecutive State Farm MVC Tournament at Redbird Arena as one of the league's hottest teams. The `Birds ended the regular season with a road sweep of Wichita State and Missouri State, two of the final four teams in the tournament.
The Redbirds dropped a four-game decision to an experienced Creighton team in the quarterfinals, ending a see-saw campaign that saw ISU start a combined four freshmen and sophomores for each of the final 19 matches of the season.
What was considered youth in 2006 could much better be characterized as potential in 2007. The Redbirds return five all-conference performers (Lindsey, Richmond, libero Kasey Mollerus, and middle blockers Katie Seyller and Staehlin) from the league's four all-Valley teams.
Illinois State opens the 2007 campaign Friday, Aug. 24 against nationally-ranked Florida, and hosts both Miami (Ohio) and Valparaiso in the Redbird Classic the following day (Saturday, August 25).
