Creighton University
Illinois State (Pre-Game Chili Feed)
Volleyball Gets Defensive, Stays Perfect in MVC With 3-1 Win
9/28/2007 10:45:00 PM | Volleyball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Kelly Goc had a season-high 20 kills and Creighton turned in a season-best 114 digs while posting a 3-1 volleyball victory over Illinois State on Friday night in Omaha. Scores of the match were 30-25, 30-26, 19-30, 30-22.
Creighton is now 4-0 in the MVC, one-half game behind Missouri State (5-0) for first in the league. Illinois State dropped to 10-6 with the setback and 2-3 in league action with its third straight loss.
Creighton controlled most of the first two games while taking a 2-0 lead into the intermission. Reigning MVC Player of the Week Abby Baumann had six game one kills as well as back-to-back block assists to end game one. The Jays had 21 kills in the opener, hitting .203.
In the second game Creighton would score six of the final eight points to emerge from a 24-24 tie and earn a 30-26 win. Goc had eight kills in 12 game two swings to pace the Jays, which also racked up 32 digs defensively. Four different Bluejays had six digs in the second game.
Illinois State never trailed while taking the third game. The Redbirds flew to a 7-1 lead early, then scored seven of the final eight points late for the win. An ace by ISU's Katie Seyller capped a 5-0 run and gave the 'Birds the 30-19 win.
Illinois State carried that momentum into game four, taking a commanding 13-7 lead early. However, CU fought back with a huge 23-9 run to end the match. Allie Oelke helped CU to a four-point run, while Katie Mehal followed shortly after that with a six-point surge of her own. The Jays ended the match on an ace by Carolyn Decker, their fourth straight victory over ISU.
Goc had 20 kills while hitting a match-high .356 in 45 swings. Three different Jays turned in double-doubles. Oelke had 12 kills and 14 digs, Baumann had 10 kills and 10 digs, while setter Korie Lebeda had 44 assists and 17 digs. Six CU players had 10 or more digs, led by Bianca Rivera's 32 digs. Sarah Schulze had 18 digs while Mehal finished with 15. CU finished with 66 kills, five aces, 114 digs and 8.5 blocks.
Illinois State was paced by 14 kills from Kari Staehlin, who also had a match-best seven blocks. MC Richmond had 10 kills and 23 digs for the double-double, while Mallory Leggett had 13 kills and 18 digs for a double-dime of her own. All-Valley setter Erin Lindsey had 37 assists, 20 digs and seven kills. The Redbirds had 58 digs, two aces, 108 digs and 11 blocks while hitting .136.
Creighton returns to action tomorrow night with a match against Indiana State. First serve is set for 7 pm. The contest can be heard on KVSS (88.9 FM) and on-line at www.GoCreighton.com.
NOTES: Bianca Rivera became the first player in Creighton history with four straight matches of 20 or more digs ...Kelly Goc had 20 or more kills for the fourth straight match against Illinois State dating back to last year ...Creighton has never swept Illinois State ...Creighton has won each of the last four matches against Illinois State in four games ...Bianca Rivera is the second player in CU history with two matches of 30 or more digs in a career, trailing only Janeen Piller's four from 2001-04 ...Creighton's 114 digs are tied for second-most in school history for a four-game match and tied for fifth-most in any match all-time.
