Sept. 10, 2007
Illinois State-Ohio State Match Notes in PDF Format
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NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State's volleyball team will look to extend its winning streak to six matches when it hosts No. 20 Ohio State at Redbird Arena Tuesday in the finale of the Redbirds' non-conference slate. Admission to the match is just $1, and the $1 hot dog promotion will also make its return to Redbird Arena.
Illinois State (8-2) is coming off last weekend's Ball State Classic championship. The Redbirds swept both Eastern Illinois (30-21, 30-22 and 30-26) and host Ball State (30-17, 30-24 and 30-15) to pick up their respective fourth and fifth-consecutive wins. ISU also swept Saint Louis Tuesday (30-24, 30-28 and 30-25). The Redbirds last dropped a game Sept. 1 in a four-game win over Alabama.
Ohio State (5-1) hasn't played since Tuesday (Sept. 4), when the Buckeyes upended Youngstown State in three-games (30-19, 30-21 and 30-25) at in their home opener. OSU started the season with three-consecutive wins over Southeast Missouri State, Maine and Ball State at the Active Ankle Classic (Muncie, Ind.), before going 1-1 at the Coors Classic in Ft. Collins, Colo. The Buckeyes dropped a three-game (30-22, 30-25 and 30-21) decision to host Colorado State in the opening round of the tournament, before defeating Pacific in a three-game sweep (30-22, 30-21 and 33-31).
The Redbirds will be seeking their ninth win of the season against Ohio State. Illinois State didn't capture its ninth win of the 2006 season until Oct. 12 against in-state rival Bradley, in its eighth Missouri Valley Conference contest of the campaign.
Including last weekend's matches at the Ball State Classic, Illinois State has played against 10 non-conference opponents from seven different leagues. The Redbirds have taken on foes from the SEC (Florida and Alabama), the Mid-American Conference (Miami [Ohio], Northern Illinois and Ball State), the Horizon League (Valparaiso), the Big Sky Conference (Sacramento State) Conference USA (UAB), the Atlantic-10 (Saint Louis) and the Ohio Valley Conference (Eastern Illinois).
The Redbirds lead the all-time series against Ohio State, 7-4. ISU and the Buckeyes last squared off in Columbus, Ohio, during the 2003 season. Ohio State won the match on the floor, but the decision was later reversed to ISU in a forfeit. The Buckeyes won the match in their only other trip to Normal, a three-game decision (15-3, 15-6 and 15-11) in 1986.
