Aug. 27, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
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The Illinois State volleyball team will look to clinch its first winning streak of the 2007 season when the Redbirds visit DeKalb, Ill., Tuesday for a non-conference match against in-state rival Northern Illinois at Victor E. Court.
Illinois State head coach Sharon Dingman is expected to return to the sidelines after missing the past two matches due to illness.
The Redbirds (2-1) are coming off back-to-back wins over Miami (Ohio) and Valparaiso in the Redbird Classic Saturday. ISU dropped its season-opening match against No. 7 Florida Friday at Redbird Arena.
Northern Illinois went 1-2 in last weekend's NIU Invitational. The Huskies dropped a five-game decision to Indiana (25-30, 30-28, 30-22, 20-30 and 10-15) in the tournament's first-round, before falling to Western Kentucky in a three-game (21-30, 23-30 and 17-30) decision in the second-round. NIU finished the invitational with a sweep (30-22, 30-22 and 30-27) over Western Illinois in the tournament finale Sunday, finishing in third-place.
The Redbirds opened their season with a three-game (19-30, 24-30 and 27-30) setback to the Gators Friday night. Backed by a dominating hitting effort and strong defense, Florida prevailed in front of 3,357 fans, the ninth-largest crowd in Redbird Arena history. Junior right side hitter M.C. Richmond led all Redbird hitters with 14 kills and a .270 hitting percentage. Junior middle blocker Kari Staehlin followed close behind with 10 kills of her own, to go with a .304 hitting percentage. Junior setter Erin Lindsey led the Redbirds with 36 assists and 15 digs.
Illinois State defeated Miami (Ohio) in four games (30-21, 26-30, 30-26 and 30-28) in its first-round Redbird Classic match Saturday afternoon, securing the Redbirds' first win of the season. Sophomore outside hitter Peggy Riessen had career-highs in kills (18) and digs (22) in the match, while Richmond led the Redbirds with 23 kills, tying a career-high.
Dominating performances by Richmond and Riessen led the Redbirds to a 3-0 sweep (31-29, 30-18 and 30-23) against Valparaiso in the final match of the Redbird Classic Saturday night. Riessen had 12 kills and 11 digs, while Richmond added 11 kills and 14 digs. Lindsey had a match-high 38 assists for ISU. Illinois State also out-blocked the Crusaders, 8-to-2.
Illinois State leads the all-time series against Northern Illinois, 30-12. The Redbirds posted a four-game (30-22, 30-24, 28-30 and 30-26) win over the Huskies last August at Redbird Arena to pick up their first victory of the season.
The Redbirds will look to start out the season with a 3-1 record for the fourth time under Dingman. ISU started out 3-1 in 2000, 2004 and 2005.
