Aug. 30, 2008
Final Stats
MILWAUKEE -
Sophomore outside hitter Mallory Leggett recorded a season-high 19 kills with a .366 hitting percentage to lift the Illinois State volleyball team (1-2) to a three-set sweep (26-24, 29-27 and 25-17) over host Milwaukee (1-2) in the final round of the Panther Invitational at the Klotsche Center Saturday afternoon. Leggett, who averaged 3.7 kills per set in the Invitational's three matches, was named to the all-tournament team.
Leggett was the lone Redbird with double-digit kills, but senior right side hitter M.C. Richmond contributed nine kills to aid in the offensive effort. Junior libero Kasey Mollerus had a team-high 14 digs, and senior Erin Lindsey chipped in with 37 set-assists. Milwaukee was led by Becky Peters' 11 kills. Katie Culbertson had a career-high eight assisted blocks.
Illinois State held advantages in kills (44-35), assists (43-32), blocks (13.0-5.0), digs (58-56) and owned a convincing 61.0-42.0 margin in points scored. The Redbirds hit a season-best .216 for the match. ISU's 13 blocks were the most it has recorded in more than a year, when the `Birds had 14 blocks in a five-game win at Northern Illinois (Aug. 28, 2007).
"I think today's match was another step in the process of this staff and our team getting to know each other a little better," said head coach Melissa Myers, who picked up her first victory as the Redbirds' mentor. "We went out yesterday, and didn't have a whole lot of recovery time between matches, so there wasn't a lot of time to make any major changes. But we learned more about ourselves today.
"This was a big win for us; Milwaukee is a very good volleyball team. They were able to beat a very talented Iowa State team in five sets, and played well all weekend. It's nice to close out this weekend with a win."
Illinois State appeared to be headed in the same direction as Friday's opening two matches early in the first set, falling behind 7-1 in the early stages. Both teams traded points over the ensuing 12 possessions before Milwaukee claimed a 14-7 lead after back-to-back ISU attack errors. The Redbirds began closing in on the lead, going on a 12-4 run to cut the Panther lead to just one, 19-18, forcing a timeout.
The Panthers re-built a three-point advantage (21-18) before ISU knotted the score at 23-23 after Leggett's 10th kill of the frame. Hailey Kelley followed with a service error to give Milwaukee its last advantage (24-23) of the set. The Redbirds claimed the final three points of the stanza, with Leggett accounting for two more kills and the set-winning assisted block. She finished the frame with 12 kills on 21 swings, a .524 attack percentage.
After falling behind by three (6-3) in the early stages of the second set, Illinois State strung together a 7-4 spurt, and tied the set at 10-10, forcing the Panthers into their first timeout of the frame. Five possessions later, the Redbirds took a 13-12 lead, and held the advantage for the ensuing 18 points, before Milwaukee completed a 5-0 run to take a 22-21 lead. ISU took a timeout one point later, and responded with a 5-2 spurt to take a 26-25 lead.
Milwaukee took a 24-23 lead, and forced set point, after a kill by Natalie Schmitting. But ISU forced the Panthers into an attack error, and re-knotted the score at 24-24. Each team forced set point twice over the final nine points, but Richmond single-handedly ended the action, posting back-to-back kills to give ISU the 29-27 win and 2-0 lead in the best-of-five.
The Redbirds dug themselves out of another early hole in the third and final set, overcoming an early 3-0 deficit. After going on a 4-1 run to tie the score at 8-8, Milwaukee was forced into its first timeout of the frame. ISU's surge seemed to deflate the Panthers, as the Redbirds' lead grew to as many as seven points (20-13) in the ensuing stages. Illinois State outscored Milwaukee 5-4 down the stretch to post its first win of the season.
"We have a big match upcoming against Northern Illinois Tuesday," Myers said. "It was nice to gain some confidence, and we are going to learn from this weekend. We still have a long way to go, so definitely cannot rest on our laurels at all. We need to keep pushing and getting better every day."
The Redbirds will host NIU in the home opener Tuesday beginning at 7:05 p.m. Prior to the match, the ISU Athletics Department will recognize ISU's 2007 NCAA Tournament qualifying team with a banner raising presentation.
