Sept. 29, 2007
Box Score 
DES MOINES, Iowa - Freshman outside hitter Mallory Leggett recorded a career-best 21 kills to lead Illinois State's volleyball team to a five-game (30-18, 27-30, 30-32, 30-27 and 15-12) victory over host Drake at the Knapp Center Saturday night. The win snapped ISU's three-match losing streak, and clinched the Redbirds' 22nd consecutive win over the Bulldogs in the all-time series.
ISU improves to 11-6 on the season with a 3-3 Missouri Valley Conference mark. Drake drops to 5-11 and 2-3.
Peggy Riessen (17 kills) and M.C. Richmond (15) both joined Leggett in double-digit kills. Erin Lindsey had 61 set assists, while Kasey Mollerus had a season-best 31 digs. Drake was led by Angela Bys' 22 kills, leading a threesome in double figures.
Senior Kristin Dziubla, playing in relief of classmate Kari Staehlin, chipped in with seven kills and hit a team-high .429. Staehlin was bothered by an ongoing abdominal injury, and played just three-of-five games.
"Mallory (Leggett) was huge tonight," said head coach Sharon Dingman. "We started with Mallory in our left-front rotation in game four, and it paid off with the way she killed the ball. I thought Drake played its way back into the match tonight, and you have to credit them. I thought our two seniors were also huge tonight. Kristin Dziubla came in and played a great match, and Kari (Staehlin) was huge in game four and game five despite being banged up.
"I'm also encouraged that we are 2-0 in game five matches this season. Regardless of who we play or where it is, we showed tonight that we can compete in tough matches."
Illinois State never trailed in game one, jumping out to an early 12-6 lead that forced Drake head coach Amy Farber-Knowles into her first timeout. The advantage grew to 11 points twice down the stretch (28-17 and 29-18), as ISU took advantage of 13 Drake attack errors. Riessen had a match-high five kills in the frame.
Illinois State controlled the early stages of game two, but Drake used a 10-6 run mid-way through the stanza to claim a commanding 27-23 lead that it would not relinquish. With the game tied at 23-23, Angela Bys' serving led Drake to five consecutive points before ISU mounted a mini run, cutting the lead to 29-27 after a kill by Richmond. But after a timeout, Drake put the finishing touches on a 30-27 win with Emily Madden's seventh kill. Katie Seyller had three kills in the game for the Redbirds.
The Redbirds had the lead for 36 points in game three, but could not capitalize on a late 27-24 lead, and suffered a 32-20, extra-point loss. ISU broke a 12-12 tie with a 5-1 spurt and claimed a 17-13 lead after back-to-back kills by Leggett. The `Birds held the lead for the next 23 possessions, but the Bulldogs tied the stanza at 27-27 after an ISU attack error, and ended the frame on a 5-3 spurt to seal the 32-30 win.
Illinois State outlasted the Bulldogs in a hard-fought game four battle, 30-27. The Redbirds claimed the permanent lead at 16-15 after a kill by Riessen, and did not allow the Bulldogs to get any closer than two points for the remainder of the stanza. After forcing game point at 29-26, Bys tallied a kill to pull within 29-27, but a cross-court kill by Leggett secured the win, and forced a decisive game five.
In the fifth game, ISU jumped out to a commanding 8-2 advantage as both teams switched sides. But Drake fought back to pull within one point (11-10 and 12-11) twice down the stretch. The Redbirds won three of the final four points, and Drake committed a costly service error to give ISU the 15-12 win and 3-2 victory.
Illinois State will split an away-and-home series next weekend, when the Redbirds visit rival Bradley Friday, and host Northern Iowa at Redbird Arena Saturday.
