Sept. 14, 2007
Box Score
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Reigning Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Week Mallory Leggett had a career-high 17 kills to lead Illinois State to a four-game win (30-25, 30-20, 26-30 and 30-26) over host Southern Illinois in the Valley opener for both teams in front of a single-match record 713 fans at Davies Gym Friday night. The win was the Redbirds' sixth in the last seven matches.
Illinois State improves to 9-3 overall on the season, and is 1-0 in Valley play. SIU falls to 8-4 and 0-1.
"I thought we really wanted to win tonight," said head coach Sharon Dingman. "We had the attitude that we were going to win the match, and we were not going to let the match extend to five games. That was really the difference, because Southern Illinois had a lot of momentum heading into that fourth game. We made plays when we needed to down the stretch."
M.C. Richmond (14 kills), Peggy Riessen (13) and Kari Staehlin (10) all joined Leggett in double-figure kills. Erin Lindsey tallied a match-high 51 set assists, while Kasey Mollerus contributed a team-high 17 digs. SIU was led by Marina Medic's 12 kills.
Neither team held more than a two-point advantage for the opening 40 possessions, as there were a combined 13 ties and lead changes in the early going. But after back-to-back kills by senior middle blocker Kristin Dziubla, the Redbirds claimed their largest lead of the frame at 22-19, and forced the Salukis into their first timeout. Illinois State's lead grew as large as six points down the stretch, before SIU mounted a mini-rally to pull within 29-25 after the Redbirds had forced game point two possessions earlier. But Dziubla provided the game-winner with a cross-court kill, giving ISU the 30-25 win. The `Birds compiled 22 kills and hit .378 in the stanza.
Illinois State carried the momentum over to the beginning stages of game two, jumping out to a 12-8 lead through the first 20 points. Leggett, Riessen, Dziubla and Richmond all recorded kills in the spree. The Redbirds led by as many as eight in the ensuing stretch, and forced SIU head coach Brenda Winkeler into her second timeout of the frame after claiming a commanding 25-18 lead. ISU forced game point six points later at 29-20, and secured the 30-20 win after an assisted block by Staehlin and Riessen. Leggett's six kills in the stanza led ISU's offensive charge.
SIU jumped out to the early 3-0 lead in game three, and forced Dingman into her first timeout of the match 19 points later, clinging to a 12-10 lead. But ISU stormed back to take an 18-14 lead behind the serving of Richmond, who led ISU to five-consecutive points. SIU answered with an ensuing 8-4 run to tie the game at 22-22, before ISU re-claimed a three-point advantage (25-22) after a kill by Richmond and a service ace by Riessen. But the Salukis again responded, capitalizing on a 4-0 spurt to take a 26-25 lead that they would not relinquish. SIU ended the frame on a 4-1 run to claim the 30-26 win, and pull within one game in the best-of-five.
SIU claimed an early 8-4 lead in game four, thanks to another 3-0 start to the stanza. But ISU tied the match at 8-8, and claimed its first lead three points later at 10-9. The Redbirds' lead grew to 17-13 11 points later, and Winkeler called her first timeout. ISU stretched its advantage to six points (22-16), before the Salukis answered with a 9-3 spurt to knot the frame at 25-25. ISU ended the game on a 5-1 run, and capped off the win with an assisted block by Leggett and Staehlin.
Illinois State will continue its Valley weekend opening road swing Saturday, when it visits Evansville. The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
NOTEWORTHY:
ISU sophomore outside hitter Peggy Riessen started the match after missing Tuesday's contest against Ohio State due to a lower back injury.
The win marked ISU's 32nd-consecutive regular-season win over SIU.
ISU is now a perfect 5-0 this season when holding a 2-1 edge heading into a fourth game.
