Nov. 7, 2009
Box Score
EAST PEORIA, Ill. -
Illinois State's offense rebounded from a tough match the night before for a commanding sweep over Bradley (25-18, 25-22, 25-19) Saturday night. The Redbirds (11-15, 6-9 MVC) had a three-set season-high 50 kills and hit .340 as a team to beat the Braves (9-19, 0-14 MVC) for the ninth-straight time.
Junior Mallory Leggett had a tremendous night offensively, racking up a match-high 17 kills. She had just two errors on 27 attacks for a season-high .556 hitting percentage. Freshman Angela Rego had 12 kills and junior Katie Culbertson added eight. Senior Jessica Pratapas returned to the court after not practicing all week due to illness and filled up the stat sheet with four kills, 44 set-assists and four digs. Senior Kasey Mollerus had a team-high 15 digs.
"Our offense performed very well tonight," said head coach Melissa Myers. "Having Angela back on the outside with Mallory gave us that double-threat that has worked so well all season. Our middles did a great job connecting. Katie Culbertson was sick and didn't travel to Northern Iowa last night, but she looked great during pregame and was very effective. It is always great to get out in three on the road."
After compiling just 23 kills against Northern Iowa the night before, Illinois State found its offensive rhythm with 18 kills and a .467 hitting percentage in the opening set. Leggett had seven of them and a pair of aces. A 4-0 run gave ISU its first lead, 8-7, and another 4-0 spurt stretched it to 17-14. Leggett had two kills and an ace over the Redbirds' last six points.
ISU built an 8-4 lead in the second set and maintained at least a two-point advantage as the teams traded points for most of the set. Bradley closed the gap to one point twice late in the set, but the Redbirds closed it out with kills for their final four points. The second set was another solid offensive performance for the `Birds with 16 kills and a .243 hitting percentage.
A 9-1 run put the Redbirds up big early in the third set, 11-4, and they never faltered. The Braves pulled within three- 17-14, but the Redbirds used a 7-3 run to set up match point. The Braves prolonged the match with two points, but Culbertson closed it out with the final kill. The Redbirds collected 16 kills in the third set as well.
Illinois State hosts Indiana State Thursday, Nov. 12, at 8:05 p.m.
