NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team will head to Iowa for a pair of Missouri Valley Conference matches this weekend as the Redbirds take on Drake on Friday and No. 22 Northern Iowa on Saturday.
First serve is set for 7 p.m. for both matches and both can be seen live on ESPN3 as part of The Valley on ESPN3.
"This trip has the making to be the toughest road swing in The Valley this year. Drake is playing at an extremely high level with the ability to score from anywhere on the court. Then to turn around and take on a team who has recently moved into the Top 25 is incredibly difficult," said Illinois State head coach Leah Johnson. "We have to be sharp two nights in a row. We've been proving we can do it and now we get to test our growth on the road."
Illinois State (9-7, 2-1 MVC) returns to action after earning a 3-0 win at Evansville on Monday. The Redbirds split a pair of league matches last weekend, dropping a five-set match to Missouri State last Friday before bouncing back with a sweep of Southern Illinois last Saturday. For their efforts in the Redbirds' matches over the weekend, Illinois State's Courtney Pence and Stef Jankiewicz were named MVC Players of the Week on Monday.
Drake (13-3, 2-0) and Northern Iowa (12-4, 2-0) are two of four MVC teams without a conference loss to date. Drake is on pace to better its record for the fourth-consecutive season, while UNI already has four wins over Top 25 programs on its resume this season.
Illinois State has a decided advantage against Drake in the all-time series, with a 60-9 record, though the Bulldogs won both of last year's meetings. UNI is 49-25 all-time against the Redbirds. The Redbirds and Panthers split last year's meetings, each team winning at the other's home venue.
Links for live stats and video from this weekend's matches at the Wildcat Classic are available at GoRedbirds.com. Fans can also follow @RedbirdVB on Twitter for live updates and more.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.Â
