May 9, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State's volleyball team will have a unique opportunity to extend its spring season and provide a springboard into the fall when the Redbirds travel to five European countries for an international tour from May 12-25. ISU will play six total matches, and be provided the opportunity to sightsee in the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Italy.
The NCAA allows a volleyball program to plan and travel on an international tour every four years. Head coach Sharon Dingman was thrilled about her team's opportunity.
"We are very excited. This is something the team has been looking forward to for a long time," said Dingman. "We've been fundraising for the full seven years that I have been at Illinois State to make this happen. Certainly, our booster club and our fans have been tremendous in helping us make this a reality. I know the players are incredibly thankful for our great booster club and regular supporters of Redbird volleyball."
The Redbirds will depart the United States Saturday, and due to the seven-hour time difference, will arrive in Prague, Czech Republic Sunday morning. On Monday (May 14), ISU will play its first match in the annual European Spring Cup.
"With the timing of our trip, we are in a unique situation," Dingman said. "We will have the opportunity to play in the annual Spring Cup Tournament, where we will play three European national teams. Very few college teams are provided that opportunity, so we are excited about it."
Illinois State will play three matches against either the Czech Republican, Slovenian, Bulgarian, Azerbaijan or Kackastan national teams. The rest of the playing schedule will consist of a match against a club team from both Croatia and Italy, and the Croatian junior national team
"We are going to have our hands full with our competition," said Dingman. "We have to go over there with the right attitude and acknowledge that this trip is about more than who we are playing. A lot of this experience is going to be about being together, bonding and the endless educational opportunities that it will provide. But it's going to give us a great chance to evaluate our team as well."
The Redbirds will have a different tour guide in each country, and have set aside time to sightsee and learn the essence of the European culture.
"Of our six matches, three of them will be in our first three days there, so the rest of our trip will only entail three more matches," Dingman said. "There will be plenty of time to sightsee, but because we are traveling to five different countries, a lot of our time is going to be spent traveling. That's where a lot of the team bonding will come in. It's very exciting, because we will be traveling on a lot of buses, and will actually take the rail system in Europe, so we will have the same experience that a lot of Europeans would on a day-to-day basis."
The entire trip can be followed on goredbirds.com, where match recaps, a daily blog and photo gallery will be available.
