Former Bradley-Bourbonnais High School volleyball star Brandi Petelle has joined the Illinois State volleyball team.
The junior who played two seasons at Louisville made the team through tryouts as a walk-on. She will primarily serve as a defensive specialist, but also qualifies as an outside hitter.
Petelle (puh-TELL) played in 61 games over two seasons at Louisville -- a team she and her Redbird teammates will face Oct. 31. She transferred from Louisville to Illinois State in time for the Spring, 2000 semester .
Dingman believes Petelle's experience will help the 'Birds.
"Her playing experience at Louisville is a plus," said Dingman. "She contacted us (in the spring) and we invited her to come back when practice began (in August). She tried out and she impressed us."
The 5-foot-10 Petelle joins fellow transfers Christy Beyers (Bradley), Jackie Utz (Illinois-Chicago) and freshman recruit Staci Boyce (Lockport) as newcomers on the Redbird squad, which has nine returning letterwinners led by all-America candidate Kendra Haselhorst.
The Redbirds play a preseason public scrimmage at 4 p.m Sunday in Redbird Arena. The regular season opens Sept. 1 at the IKON-Husky Classic hosted by the University of Connecticut. Illinois State's home season begins Sept. 22 against Southern Illinois.
