As it turns out, the Illinois State University volleyball team couldnt have flown Thursday to Salt Lake City for the Utah Classic because commercial aviation was still stalled. But Head Coach
Sharon Dingman has arranged a bus trip to Ann Arbor to play Michigan at 6 p.m. Saturday and at Eastern Michigan at 11 a.m. Sunday.
Our team is ready to play, said Dingman. We lost the chance to play a ranked team at Utah, but now were excited to get to play a team which his looking to finish in the top half of the Big Ten, and another team from the Mid-American Conference.
Dingmans Redbirds are looking for the opportunity to go 2-0 vs. Big Ten teams this season and 1-1 vs. the MAC. ISU knocked off Purdue 3-0 last weekend, but dropped a 3-2 match to Miami of Ohio--like Eastern Michigan, a MAC member.
The Redbirds, who own a 108-81 all-time record against Big Ten members, have beaten every other Big Ten team but Michigan. ISU lost its only match with the Wolverines, the 1994 season opener, 3-2.
Junior
Erin Jones, who earned the starting outside hitter spot opposite kill leader
Megan O'Connell last weekend at Miami, will start against Michigan. They will complete a lineup which has included setter
Becky Weber, right-side hitter
Abby Lewis and middle blockers
Christy Beyers and
Jenny Kabbes. But Dingman plans to continue to use her deep, and experienced, bench.
Erin Jones did a lot of things for us at Miami, said Dingman. But we still like what
Staci Boyce can give us at that spot and will be counting on her. We have different players who can give our team different looks. Its an advantage for us.
When the Redbirds play Eastern Michigan, it will mark the first time those two teams have met in almost exactly 23 years. The Redbirds took a 2-0 decision from the Eagles Sept. 15, 1978 at a tournament in Chicago.
The start of the Missouri Valley season, delayed by the postponement of Tuesdays match at Indiana State, will be Sept. 21 at Creighton, with the home Valley opener the following Friday (Sept. 28) vs. Evansville. The Indiana State match will be played Nov. 16 in Terre Haute.
