Sept. 12, 2009
Box Score
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -
Illinois State (4-6) lost its final match in the State Farm Illini Classic to Cincinnati (6-4) in straight-sets (16-24, 24-26, 17-25) Saturday night in Champaign, Ill. The Redbirds struggled to find an offensive rhythm all match against a proficient Cincinnati attack and lost their third-straight match in straight-sets.
"Cincinnati was the better offensive team tonight. It is difficult to beat a team of that caliber when our offense isn't putting the ball away," said head coach Melissa Myers. "Playing in these tough situations against such quality teams is good for our team and eventually we will learn to make better decisions to handle that pressure better."
Cincinnati tallied 49 kills and hit .252 in the match, against just 25 kills and a .092 hitting percentage for the Redbirds. The Bearcats had at least 15 kills in every set, while the Redbirds didn't have any set with double-digit kills.
Junior Mallory Leggett paced the Redbirds with eight kills and 12 digs. She was named to the all-tournament team, collecting 28 kills and 28 digs over the three matches.
Sophomore Tabitha Visk added five kills and juniors Katie Culbertson and Hailey Kelley each had three. Sophomore Kristin Stauter played all three sets at setter, amassing 22 set-assists. Senior Kasey Mollerus had 11 digs and ended the weekend 47 away from tying the ISU all-time record.
A 5-1 run put Cincinnati up 10-5 in the first set. Later in the set, the Bearcats reeled off seven unanswered points to take a double-digit lead, 19-9. A pair of Visk aces around a Leggett kill cut the deficit down to 21-15, but the Bearcats closed out the set with a 4-1 burst. Cincinnati had 16 kills and only three attack errors in the opening set.
The second set was the tightest of the match with 11 ties and four lead changes. Cincinnati had six kills and five errors as the set was tied at eight early on. Two more Bearcat errors and a Visk kill put the Redbirds on top, 11-8. Cincinnati tied the set at 14 and 15, but the Redbirds maintained the lead each time and led 20-17 after a Leggett kill. A 5-1 Bearcat run, with four kills, tied the set at 22.
A Cincinnati service error and a kill by freshman Angela Rego gave ISU set point, but two kills, an ace and another kill completed the Bearcat comeback for the second set win, 26-24.
ISU had just seven kills in the second set, but benefitted from Cincinnati's 10 attack errors and six service errors. The Bearcats recorded 18 kills in the second set.
Seven kills and four Redbird attack errors gave Cincinnati an 11-4 lead in the third set. Cincinnati maintained that cushion until four-straight Redbird points cut it down to three, 19-16. The Bearcats shut the door quickly with a 6-1 run to finish off the set and the sweep.
Illinois State returns home to host SIU Edwardsville for the first time Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.
