Aug. 29, 2008
Final Stats
MILWAUKEE -
The Illinois State volleyball team (0-2) struggled to find its offensive system the entire match, and fell to 2007 NCAA Tournament participant Ole Miss (2-0) in a convincing three-set sweep (25-11, 25-16 and 25-21) in the second-round of the Panther Invitational at the Klotsche Center Friday evening. The Rebels were coming off their five-set win over host Milwaukee in the earlier session.
Eleven players saw action in the setback for the Redbirds, and three different starting lineups were used in the respective first-through-third sets. Katie Culbertson, Hailey Kelley, Mallory Leggett and M.C. Richmond each recorded five kills to lead ISU's offensive effort. Freshman and Salem, Wis., (Milwaukee suburb) native Tabitha Visk added three kills on a .273 hitting percentage. The Rebels were led by Katie Norris' 13 kills.
Ole Miss out-hit the Redbirds, .261 to .056, and recorded 12 more kills (31-to-29) offensively. The Rebels had 39 set-assists to Illinois State's 27, and out-dug the Redbirds, 59-to-50.
"We didn't get going from the start (tonight)," said head coach Melissa Myers. "Offensively, we really struggled connecting, and we couldn't terminate the ball. We got a little bit better in each set, but clearly, it was too little, too late."
The Redbirds fell behind by nine points (14-5) early in the initial set, and were forced into their first timeout of the match. The Rebels' lead grew to as many as 13 points in the ensuing stretch, before ISU trimmed the advantage to 10 points, 19-9, after recording its first two back-to-back points of the frame. Ole Miss finished the stanza on a 6-2 run, and after Leggett's kill extended Ole Miss' match point, she recorded a service error to end the set.
Visk and freshman classmate Laura Wakefield started the respective middle blocker and left side positions in the second set, recording their first single-set starts of their careers. ISU again fell behind early, as Ole Miss claimed the first four points, and eventually built a 13-8 advantage.
The Redbirds cut the lead to three points three times in the ensuing 10 possessions, but the Rebels answered with two quick points to regain a commanding 19-14 lead, and force ISU into another timeout. ISU managed just two points the rest of the stanza, as the Rebels cruised to the nine-point win and 2-0 advantage in the best-of-five.
Another slow start plagued the Redbirds in the third and final set, but ISU did not go down without mounting a significant comeback bid. The Redbirds fell behind 10-5 and took a timeout, but trimmed the lead to just two, 11-9, after going on a 5-0 spree. Kelley, Erin Lindsey, Culbertson and Peggy Riessen each had kills in the stretch.
Ole Miss stretched its lead back to six points in the waning stages, before ISU strung together one more surge, and trimmed the lead to 18-16. Leggett had back-to-back kills to aid in the effort. After the Rebels built the advantage back to three points (20-17), the Redbirds went on a 3-1 run to cut the lead to 21-20, and appeared to be in control. But Ole Miss claimed the ensuing two points to claim a 23-20 lead, and forced the Redbirds into their final timeout. ISU scored just one more point in the 25-21, match-clinching setback.
"Our defense looked better in the third set, but we need to continue to work on our offense to combat that," Myers said. "Overall, Mississippi executed far better than we did, and that always makes a huge difference. The new scoring is really going to make a difference this year; when you are only playing to 25 points, the game really goes faster. We have to find a way to recover quickly from mistakes, get back out there, and put the ball away.
"You have got to give Mississippi credit, because they were able to do that. They put together some early scoring runs, got us in a hole, and every time we made a charge, they fought back with another run. That's how we need to play offensively."
