Aug. 19, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
Six of the 21 opponents on Illinois State's 2008 volleyball schedule are either ranked or received votes in the CBS College Sports Network/AVCA Division I Coaches Preseason Top-25 poll, as announced by the American Volleyball Coaches Association Tuesday.
The Redbirds will take on preseason No. 1-ranked Penn State Sept. 13 in the Chicago Invitational, and open the 2008 campaign against 18th-ranked Iowa State at the Panther Invitational in Milwaukee. The Nittany Lions were the overwhelming favorite to repeat as NCAA Division I national champions, collecting 59-of-60 first place votes and 1,498 total points.
Other ISU opponents receiving top-25 votes in the poll were Louisville (66 votes), Illinois (44) and Missouri Valley Conference defending regular-season champions Wichita State (14).
In all, the Redbirds are slated to play 10 matches against 2007 NCAA Tournament teams this season.
