Aug. 28, 2008
Panther Invitational Match Notes 
NORMAL, Ill. - First-year head coach Melissa Myers and the Illinois State volleyball team will officially begin the defense of its 2007 NCAA Tournament appearance this weekend, when the Redbirds kick-off the 2008 campaign with three matches at the Panther Invitational in Milwaukee. ISU will take on No. 18 Iowa State Friday at 11 a.m., and face Ole Miss beginning at 5 p.m. The Redbirds will face host Milwaukee in the tournament finale Saturday at 2:30 p.m. All matches will be held at Milwaukee's Klotsche Center.
Myers said it would be good for the Redbirds to compete against other teams, after nearly three weeks of preseason training and practices.
"It's going to be nice to see an opponent this weekend," said Myers. "We will be tested early with a tough Iowa State team, and it won't get easier when we turn around and face two very talented teams, in Mississippi and UW-Milwaukee.
"One of the most important things we want to see from the team this weekend is their ability to compete, as well as how they adapt within the game. When you head into opening weekend play with little information on the opponent, the team that knows how to compete and how to make changes based on game needs usually comes out on top."
Iowa State, ranked 18th in the preseason AVCA/CBS College Sports Top-25 poll, is coming off one of the most successful campaigns in school history (19-14, 11-9 Big 12), when the Cyclones finished fifth in the Big 12 Conference, made a run to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen and garnered the program's first-ever national ranking. The Cyclones return five starters from last season's team, and are led by middle blocker Jen Malcom, who had a team-high returning 308 kills and 170 blocks last season. Iowa State was picked fifth in the Big 12 Conference preseason poll, and was one-of four Big 12 teams to garner preseason national rankings.
Ole Miss (25-7, 14-6 SEC) finished the 2007 season third in the Southeastern Conference overall standings, including a second-place tally in the SEC West division. The Rebels' 14 wins in league play set a school record and locked up the program's first-ever winning conference record. This season, Mississippi returns nine letterwinners, including three starters. Senior setter Rachel Kieckhaefer and junior outside hitter Jackie Jones were both named All-SEC in 2007. The Rebels were picked second in the SEC-West preseason poll.
Milwaukee won a program-record 26 matches last season, but did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament after falling to Valparaiso in the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament. The five-time regular-season conference champions return all-league middle blockers Natalie Schmitting and Maddie Suepel (all-newcomer team), but will likely field one of the youngest teams in the NCAA Division I ranks this season. The Panthers' 16-player roster includes 12 freshmen and sophomores with just one senior. The Panthers were picked third in the Horizon League's preseason poll.
"Iowa State is preseason nationally-ranked and is used to playing tough competition within its conference," Myers said. "This is a team that advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in 2007, and has several returning players with NCAA Tournament experience. They've continually improved over the past few years, and will be ready to play this weekend. Mississippi is another opponent that advanced to the NCAA Tournament and is coming off of a great 2007 season. The host, Milwaukee, is an NCAA tournament regular and despite graduating two great players, this team knows how to compete. We certainly have a challenge ahead of us this weekend."
The Redbirds are coming off their first NCAA Tournament berth since the 1998 season. Fifth-seeded ISU made a run to the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship match after upsetting host Missouri State and
No. 22 Wichita State (both NCAA Tournament teams) along the way. Illinois State returns five starters, plus libero Kasey Mollerus, from a team that won 20 matches (21-12, 11-7 MVC) for the first time since 2004.
ISU owns a 7-3 all-time record against the field of the Panther Invitational. The Redbirds lead the all-time series against Iowa State 5-0, and is 2-3 all-time versus Milwaukee. ISU and Ole Miss will be playing for the first time in the sport of volleyball. The Redbirds most recently faced Milwaukee at the 2006 State Farm Illini Classic (Champaign, Ill.), and the Panthers recorded a convincing three-game sweep (30-23, 30-17 and 30-23) to drop ISU's record to 0-2.
Friday's match against Iowa State will mark the first action for both the Redbirds and Cyclones under the new NCAA scoring system. Single "sets" will now be played up to 25 points, instead of 30 - rally scoring will still be utilized, and sets are still required to be won by at least two points.
