Aug. 27, 2009
GUESS WHO'S BACK?
Illinois State returns nine letterwinners from 2008’s 16-15 team, including four starters. The Redbirds return 51.9 percent of its points from 2008. Junior Mallory Leggett is the team’s leading returner in kills (390), points (441.5) and service aces (31). Senior Kasey Mollerus led the team in digs for the third-straight year with 461.
MOLLERUS DIGS IT
Senior libero Kasey Mollerus has been a fixture on the Illinois State back line for the past three years. Mollerus is a defensive wiz, digging out balls like she was born to do it. She has three of the top-10 ISU single-season dig records, including a school-record 586 as a sophomore. Mollerus’s dig-proficiency has put her in second place all-time in digs as a Redbird with 1,623. She needs less than 200 digs to surpass Chris Rehor-Federico (1,806) as the ISU all-time leader. Mollerus is currently the ISU leader in digs per set (4.68).
REDBIRDS TABBED SEVENTH IN MVC PRESEASON POLL
Illinois State was picked to finish in seventh place in the Missouri Valley Conference in the annual preseason coaches poll. The Redbirds had been picked fifth for three-straight years before the seventh-place projection this season. Wichita State was picked to repeat as conference champions, garnering 99 votes, including nine first-place votes. Missouri State received the other first-place vote and came in second with 87 votes. Senior Peggy Riessen was named to the Preseason All-Valley Team, the only member from a team that wasn’t picked to finish in the top-four in the conference.
KEEPING THE STREAK ALIVE
If the MVC Preseason Poll holds true and ISU comes in seventh place in the regular season, it would snap an impressive streak by the Redbirds. ISU has made 27-consecutive conference tournaments, dating back to 1982, the Redbirds’ first year in the conference. It is the longest streak in conference history.
REDBIRDS VS. THE FIELD
Illinois State is 8-6 all-time against the 2009 Redbird Classic field. The Redbirds are 7-5 against UT Arlington and have not faced the Mavericks since 1990. The Redbirds won the only match in Normal in 1984 and have won five of the last six meetings. ISU has split two all-time meetings with Oral Roberts in 1979 and 1980. Friday’s season-opener will be the first-ever meeting between Illinois State and Gardner-Webb on the volleyball court.
STARTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
Illinois State is 18-18 all-time in season-openers in its 36-year history. The Redbirds have lost 11 of their last 13 season-openers, including six-straight defeats since 2003. ISU IN THE REDBIRD CLASSIC Whether the name is the Redbird Classic, Barker GMC Classic, ISU PowerBar Classic or the ISU Invitational, the Redbirds dominate tournaments in Normal. Illinois State is 58-29 all-time in the Redbird Classic, winning seven titles. Illinois State has opened the season with a home tournament seven times, posting a 13-11 record.
RIESSEN RECEIVES MEDICAL EXEMPTION
Senior Peggy Riessen was approved for a medical exemption waiver by the NCAA Aug. 25, ending her career at Illinois State. Riessen has struggled with back injuries her entire career and the problems reached a point this summer that she could no longer play. Riessen was an All-Valley First-Team selection last season after leading the Redbirds in kills (410), kills per set (3.63) and points (448.5).
SECOND TIME AROUND
Head coach Melissa Myers enters her second season at Illinois State and in NCAA Division I. Myers guided the Redbirds above .500 with a 16-15 record in 2008. The previous five Redbird coaches have a combined record of 155-55 (.738) in their second years and only one had a lower winning percentage in her second year than in her first. Myers posted a 161-49 record in six years at the head coach of California (Pa.).
