Nov. 11, 2010
Box Score
PEORIA, Ill. -
Illinois State's first volleyball match in the new Renaissance Coliseum was not a happy one, as the Redbirds (17-12, 5-9 MVC) fell to Bradley (7-21, 2-13 MVC) in straight-sets (16-25, 23-25, 18-25) Friday night.
Freshman Shannon McGlaughlin led Illinois State with 13 kills and had just three errors for a .333 hitting percentage. Senior Mallory Leggett added nine kills, while junior Tabitha Visk and freshman LeighAnn Hranka chipped in five each. Bradley had a 43-37 advantage in kills and a 6-2 advantage in team blocks in the match.
The win was the seventh for Bradley in 50 all-time matches against Illinois State. The Braves beat the Redbirds for the first time since 2003, snapping a 15-match losing streak, and swept ISU for just the second time ever, the first coming in 1994.
"Bradley played inspired and with a lot of pride in this new facility, which they have all year. Bradley has taken sets from teams all season long, they even took Missouri State to five sets. This is a young, talented team and it is a shock they only have two conference wins after tonight. The second set could have gone either way and Bradley found a way to pull it out. We need to learn from this match and focus on a tough match against Northern Iowa on Saturday."
Three kills, a service ace and a bad ISU set put Bradley ahead, 7-2, in the first set. The Redbirds tried to chip away at the lead, but couldn't score more than two-consecutive points. Four-consecutive points stretched the Bradley lead to seven, 17-10. A pair of Madelyn Ervin kills gave Bradley its largest lead of the set, 22-13. Kills by Leggett and McGlaughlin and a Bradley error cut the deficit down to six, 22-16, but two Bradley kills and an ISU error gave the set to the Braves, 25-16.
Back-to-back service errors fueled a 5-1 run that turned a one-point Bradley deficit to a three-point lead, 9-6. Three ISU kills and a Bradley error tied the set at 11. After three ties, three ISU errors gave Bradley a 20-15 advantage. The Redbirds responded with six-straight points, including two Leggett kills and two aces by junior Kristin Stauter, to regain the lead, 21-20. The match remained close with ties at 21, 22 and 23 points. Bradley took the final momentum swing, gaining set point on an ISU ball-handling error and winning the set with a block, 25-23.
Bradley again took an early lead in the third set, pulling ahead, 8-5, on three-straight points. A pair of kills stretched the lead to six, 16-10, and the Braves maintained a comfortable cushion the rest of the way. In the end, a Bradley kill and an ISU attack error finished off the set, 25-18, and gave the Braves the improbable sweep.
Illinois State visits No. 12 Northern Iowa in its final road match of the season Saturday at 4 p.m.
