May 20, 2009
2009 Schedule (PDF) 
2009 Schedule (Online)
NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State head volleyball coach Melissa Myers has announced the Redbirds' 2009 schedule. The Redbirds will play 29 matches in 2009, including three tournaments and 18 Missouri Valley Conference matches. Eight Redbird opponents were in the NCAA Tournament last season.
"Our non-conference schedule gets progressively tougher and will help prepare us for the demands of our competitive MVC season," said Myers. "We'll open at home this season which will give our fans an opportunity to get to know our incoming players and we'll test ourselves early by playing three teams in the top-25."
For the first time since 2003, ISU will open the season with the annual Redbird Classic Aug. 28-29. Gardner-Webb, Texas-Arlington and Oral Roberts will join ISU for the two-day tournament. The Redbirds face Gardner-Webb Aug. 28 and take on UT-Arlington and Oral Roberts the following day. Former Normal West standout Laura Wilcox is a middle blocker for Gardner-Webb and was named the Big South Freshman of the Year last season.
After a match against in-state rival Loyola-Chicago (Sept. 1), the Redbirds will participate in the Western Michigan Tournament. ISU opens the tournament with Dayton (Sept. 4) and then takes on host Western Michigan and Wake Forest (Sept. 5). Western Michigan and Dayton both made the NCAA Tournament last year and actually played each other in the first round. The Broncos beat the Flyers, 3-1, and advanced to the third round, where they lost to eventual national champion Penn State.
The following weekend, the Redbirds head to a tournament at Illinois (Sept. 11-12) to face three teams that played in the NCAA Tournament in 2008. The tournament has a regional flare with ISU, Illinois, Cincinnati and St. Louis in the field. St. Louis won its first-round match. Illinois and Cincinnati met in the second round, a 3-0 win for the Fighting Illini.
The Redbirds return home to face SIU-Edwardsville (Sept. 15) in their first home match in over two weeks and final non-conference match of the season.
For the fifth time in the last six years, the Redbirds open the Valley schedule on the road, this year at Missouri State and Wichita State (Sept. 18-19). The Valley home-opening weekend follows with Drake and Creighton (Sept. 25-26).
The 2009 State Farm MVC Tournament is Nov. 26-28 in Omaha, Neb.
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