Creighton University
ILLINOIS STATE
Volleyball Moves Back Into Second Place With Win Over Illinois State
10/30/2010 11:43:00 PM | Volleyball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton clinched an eighth straight MVC Tournament bid with a 3-1 victory over Illinois State on Saturday night at D.J. Sokol Arena. Scores of the match were 25-21, 25-27, 25-17, 25-14.
Creighton improved to 15-8 on the season and moves back into sole possession of second in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 10-3 league mark. The Redbirds, coming off a 3-2 comeback victory at Drake on Friday night, fell to 15-11 on the year and are 5-8 in conference play.
Creighton controlled play most of the night, losing the second set only after a major comeback by the 'Birds.
The Jays never trailed in a 25-21 first set victory behind five kills each by Laurel Sanford and Alicia Runge. Julianne Mandolfo had 11 of Creighton's 26 digs in the opening frame. Creighton led 20-13 before ISU closed within three at 20-17. The 'Birds rally would get them as close as 23-21 before kills from Allie Oelke and Karisa Almgren ended the set.
Creighton raced to a 7-2 lead early in the second set, extending that margin to 18-9 and 20-12 before an epic Illinois State comeback. The 'Birds scored seven straight points on Mallory Leggett's serve to get within one, and eventually tied the score at 22-all on a block by LeighAnn Hranka. ISU survived a Creighton set point at 24-23 when CU served into the net, and earned a 26-25 lead a short time later with another Bluejay service miscue. ISU then won the second set 27-25 on a CU attack error, knotting the match at one. Illinois State had 36 digs in the second set alone, which featured 22 attacks by Leggett.
After falling behind 3-0 early in the third set Creighton scored the next five points to take the lead for good. CU created a cushion with a 4-0 run on Mandolfo's serve, and later pushed the margin to 20-11. An Oelke kill through the block ended the third set, 25-17, as Creighton hit .326.
Creighton controlled the fourth set against an Illinois State team that appeared exhausted. The Bluejays hit .333 with 14 kills and three blocks, while ISU hit -.057 in 35 swings and dug just 11 balls. Creighton broke free from a 10-8 lead with a 12-4 spurt and closed out the match when Megan Bober and Sanford teamed to block Leggett.
Creighton was led by Sanford's 13 kills and six blocks, while Runge had 11 kills. Oelke had 11 kills and 16 digs for her 40th career double-double, and Bober had 37 assists, eight kills and seven digs. Mandolfo had a match-high 24 digs, with all of those coming in the first three sets. Creighton finished with 60 kills, four aces, 90 digs and nine blocks while hitting .239.
Illinois State was led by 13 kills and 15 digs by Leggett. With starting setter Kristin Stauter out of the line-up, replacements Sarah Fetter (25 assists, 15 digs) and Laura Wakefield (11 assists, 18 digs) stepped in and notched first career double-doubles. Libero Jenny Menendez led ISU with 20 digs on the evening. Illinois State finished with 47 kills, five aces, 93 digs and 6.5 blocks while hitting .103.
Creighton returns to action next weekend with its final road trip of the regular-season, a pivotal swing at third-place Wichita State (Friday, 7 pm) and fourth-place Missouri State (Saturday, 7 pm). Both matches can be heard on KOIL (1180 AM), with Brad Burwell and Lauren Bloemke on the call.
NOTES: Creighton never trailed in sets one or four ... Brianne Fliss had career-bests 11 assists and three digs ... Creighton has had 90 or more digs in a home match just 10 times in the last six years, but six of those 10 occurences have come against Illinois State in its annual visit ... Creighton outblocked ISU 7-2 in the final two sets ... Creigthon has won 10 of the last 11 meetings with Illinois State, including five straight in Omaha by identical 3-1 scores ... Creighton has beaten Illinois State 13 times in 37 meetings, but never swept the 'Birds ... Creighton is now 14-4 with Laurel Sanford in the starting line-up, and 1-4 in the five matches she didn't start due to injury ... Creighton's 15 wins exceed last year's total of 14 ... After starting 1-4 at home, Creighton has won its last five at D.J. Sokol Arena.
