Sept. 6, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. - Sophomore middle blocker Hailey Kelley set a career-high with 10 kills and M.C. Richmond had a career-high nine set-assists in a three-set Illinois State rout (25-8, 25-16, 25-20) of Oakland at the Redbird Classic at Redbird Arena on Saturday.
Kelley topped her previous high of seven kills, which she set in the season-opening loss to Iowa State, and joined Peggy Riessen (14 kills) in double digits. Richmond, a senior from St. Louis, notched seven set-assists in the opening set alone, before collecting a career-high nine total assists.
The win by the Redbirds (4-2) pits a pair of undefeated tournament teams against each other in Saturday's final, when the Redbirds face Western Michigan (4-0) in the nightcap at 7:05 (CT).
The Redbirds dominated the opening set, hitting .552 with 16 kills, while holding the Grizzlies (2-3) in single digits. Oakland managed just one kill and earned seven-of-its eight total points on service errors by Illinois State. The Redbirds built an early lead behind Jessica Pratapas' serve and led 7-2 before an Oakland timeout. Up 14-7, the Redbirds closed the opening set on an 11-1 run in which Riessen collected five of her seven kills for the set.
The set marked the largest single set victory margin for the Redbirds this season and largest margin of victory since defeating Bradley 30-10 in the first set on Nov. 3, 2007.
Both squads traded points through the early going in the second set, though the Redbirds never trailed. Oakland cut the ISU advantage to two at 12-10, but an 8-2 run featuring kills from four different hitters distanced the Redbirds. Mallory Leggett closed the set with an ace, one of the Redbirds' six service aces in the match.
The Grizzlies pushed the Redbirds in the final set, nabbing their first two leads of the match. Oakland cut the Illinois State lead to one at 20-19, but the Redbirds closed with a 5-1 run to secure the win.
Illinois State hit .414 as a team and out-blocked Oakland, 4-3, while improving to 3-0 to begin September for the second-consecutive season. The Redbirds limited the Grizzlies to .084 hitting in the match.
Leggett finished the match with nine kills and Katie Culbertson added six. Culbertson led the Redbird frontlines with two block-assists. Oakland's Ashleigh Slemmer led the Grizzlies with five kills and Katy Wilson had 12 assists.
Oakland concludes its Redbird Classic slate with a 5:00 p.m. match-up with Western Carolina (0-6) on Saturday.
