On Sept. 11, 2001, the terrorists who struck the World Trade Center, an air liner in Pennsylvania and The Pentagon aimed to change the way Americans live. On the first anniversary of those terrorist attacks, folks in Central Illinois could make their own statement by breaking the all-time Illinois State home volleyball attendance record as the Redbirds take on Stanford at 7 p.m. in Redbird Arena.
Illinois State Athletics Department figures about 30 hours before the match projected a crowd of more than 3,000. With 1,000 more, the Illinois State-Stanford match would shatter the previous ISU and Missouri Valley Conference record of 4,008 set in an Oct. 16, 1993 match against Penn State. The record is part of a Redbird volleyball tradition which has placed Illinois State among the nations Top 10 in intercollegiate volleyball home attendance over the past decade. A crowd of 3,500 or more would be the largest college volleyball crowd of the season in the mainland 48 states this season (Hawaii has had two larger).
Assistant Athletics Director for Marketing
Leanna Bordner believes the crowd could go well past the previous record. Redbird Arena seats 10,200.
Weve had walk-up crowds of 2,000 and more for volleyball before, said Bordner, who was events manager at ISU for the 1993 record-breaking crowd. We are well-prepared for that and more on Wednesday.
The Stanford-Illinois State match--ironically, scheduled well before the events of Sept. 11, 2001--will be the final event among a series of on-campus and community remembrances of those who perished in the terrorist attacks a year earlier. The Redbirds postponed their scheduled match at Indiana State that day as volleyball players assembled in their locker room, trying to understand the tragic events.
Now, one of the reasons they want to play is to show that college volleyball is a valued tradition in Central Illinois ... and terror has neither ended tradition nor altered values. Redbird coach Sharon Dingman wants fans to come to the Stanford match simply to have a good time.
With the remembrance events going on much of the day, were hoping people will want to come out, relax and let go at Redbird Arena, said Dingman. We think people will be ready for that. Athletes enjoy performing. They want to provide fans with a reason to come and celebrate.
During the remembrance ceremony in Hancock Stadium, which starts at 4 p.m. and will include a human flag made up of more than 1,300 volunteers, volleyball tickets will be on sale at Gate 1 and Gate 4. The doors to Redbird Arena will open to patrons at 6 p.m.
Stanford, the No. 1-ranked team in the nation and defending NCAA Champions, feature sophomore outside hitter Ogonna Nnamani, a well-known name to Central Illinois fans. She was the two-time national prep volleyball player of the year in 1999 and 2000 for University High School on the Illinois State campus. Nnamanis father, Chika, is an associate vice president for student affairs at Illinois State.
The Cardinal is 6-0 this season, providing the only blemish on No. 7 Northern Iowas 8-1 record. Stanford topped the Panthers in three games in the season-opening State Farm Classic at Minneapolis. Stanford will be the third nationally-ranked opponent in a row for Illinois State, which faced No. 12 Wisconsin and No. 16 Texas A&M last weekend. Dingman is excited about hosting an NCAA champion at Redbird Arena because its the first time in her 12 years as a head coach her team has faced a defending champion.
Its a huge challenge, but Stanford coming here says something about great teams wanting to come to Redbird Arena, said Dingman. They know that we put on a great event, we have great crowds and we have great media support as well. Our players are excited about the challenge.
The Redbirds, 2-3, have dropped three straight. They open the Missouri Valley Conference season this weekend against Bradley at 7 p.m. Friday and Northern Iowa at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Braves, picked third, and the Panthers, picked to win their fourth straight league title, are two of the three teams ranked ahead of Illinois State in the preseason coaches poll.
