Sept. 5, 2009
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -
Sophomore Tabitha Visk and freshman Angela Rego both had career-highs in kills to lead Illinois State (4-3) past Wake Forest (0-6) in straight sets (25-17, 25-16, 25-20) in the final match of the Holiday Inn West Bronco Invitational Saturday. Illinois State had a .313 hitting percentage to snap its two-game losing streak and pick up a win in the tournament.
After collecting 11 kills over the first two matches of the tournament, Visk came up big with a career-high 16 against the Demon Deacons. Rego had a career-best 11 kills and no errors for a hitting percentage of .478. Junior Katie Culbertson added a season-best eight kills against just one error for a .500 hitting percentage. The trio combined for 35 of ISU's 47 kills.
Sophomore Kristin Stauter had a career-high 41 set-assists and junior Mallory Leggett, who was named to the all-tournament team, had four service aces. Senior Kasey Mollerus had a team-best 16 digs and freshman Jenny Menendez tied her career-high with 10. Illinois State had eight blocks in the match and four players had multiple block assists.
"I was pleased to see our team come out after two losses to quality opponents and earn a win to end the tournament," said ISU head coach Melissa Myers. "We showed composure against Wake Forest and limited our errors. We didn't allow Wake Forest to go on any big runs, which was one of our biggest problems against Dayton and Western Michigan. We had a very balanced attack and Tabitha and Angela had great matches on offense."
Five different Redbirds recorded kills to build an 8-3 lead in the first set. Visk then went on an assault, recording four kills over a span of six ISU points. The Redbird lead grew to seven points, 18-11, before Wake Forest put together a string of three kills. Just when it looked like the Demon Deacons might stage a run, a kill by Rego and a block by Visk and Kelley took away any hope.
The Redbirds showed no signs of their poor offensive performance from the match earlier in the day, recording 17 kills and just two attack errors in the first set.
ISU led early in the second set, 8-4, when Leggett stepped back to serve and she started a Redbird run that stretched the lead to double-digits. Leggett had three aces in her six serves and the Redbirds had two blocks to take a 17-5 lead. The Deacons cut the lead down to single-digits once at 18-9, but ISU stayed ahead by double-figures until set point, 24-14. Wake Forest staved off the loss with two points, but Rego sent home the final point to give ISU a 2-0 win.
A 6-1 run gave ISU an 11-6 lead in the third set. Freshman Meg Zasada made her first-career appearance during the run and served three-straight points, even picking up a set-assist. ISU maintained that five-point cushion and then Rego and Culbertson combined for five kills and joined together on a block to bring the Redbirds to match point, 24-15. Wake Forest fought hard with five-straight points, but Visk capped her night with the final kill on a crosscourt shot.
Illinois State will participate in the State Farm Illini Classic Sept. 11-12. The Redbirds open play against No. 19 Saint Louis Friday at 4:30 p.m.
