Aug. 25, 2007
Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. -
Another dominating performance by junior right side hitter M.C. Richmond and sophomore outside hitter Peggy Riessen led the Redbirds (2-1) to a 3-0 sweep (31-29, 30-18, 30-23) against Valparaiso (1-1) in the final match of the Redbird Classic Saturday night. Both players were coming off career-high performances against Miami (Ohio) earlier in the day and kept their momentum going in the nightcap. Riessen had 12 kills and 11 digs, while Richmond added 11 kills and 14 digs. Junior setter Erin Lindsey had a game-high 38 assists for ISU.
Illinois State head coach Sharon Dingman missed her second match of the day due to illness, leaving assistant coach Chris Gaskill to once again guide the Redbirds. Gaskill led ISU to its second win of the day in commanding fashion.
"Winning game one was a great confidence boost for us," said Gaskill. "We have to know we can pull out tough games in order to win matches. Our serving in the match was tremendous. So much of volleyball comes down to serving and passing. We were able to get some aces in the second game and we made a point of serving deep so they couldn't set up their offense."
The first game was a back-and-forth battle that featured 13 ties and six lead changes. The Crusaders went on a 7-2 run to gain the first significant lead, 12-7. The Redbirds came right back with six-consecutive points to regain the lead, 13-12. Valpo hung tough, never letting the Redbirds' lead get bigger than two points and tied the game four more times before regaining the lead, 21-20. The Crusader lead didn't last long as the Redbirds reeled off four-straight points to regain the lead, 24-21. After a quick 6-2 run, the Crusaders led once again, 27-26. Illinois State had the final push of the game, outscoring Valpo, 5-2, for the 31-29 victory. Five different Redbird players had multiple kills, led by Riessen with four.
A 13-4 Illinois State run proved to be the pivotal point in the second game. Richmond had four kills during the stretch that turned a two-point Redbird deficit into an 18-11 advantage and put the game out of reach. The `Birds outscored the Crusaders 12-7 the rest of the way to take the second game, 30-18. Richmond paced the Redbirds with seven kills and a .600 hitting percentage in the game.
The Redbirds scored in various ways to build a 9-4 lead in the third game. Kills by Richmond, Riessen and freshman outside hitter Mallory Leggett, service aces by Riessen and sophomore middle blocker Katie Seyller, and a service error by Valpo made up a 7-2 Redbird run. Just as they had all match, the Crusaders staged a comeback with five-consecutive points to knot the game up at 9-9. The game remained tight until the Redbirds opened up a 10-3 run, highlighted by two kills and a block assist from senior middle blocker Kari Staehlin and an ace by Leggett, to take a 26-18 lead. Leggett closed out the game and the match sweep with two kills on assists from Lindsey, securing the 30-23 Redbird win.
Illinois State returns to action Tuesday at 7 p.m. against in-state rival Northern Illinois in Dekalb, Ill.
