Oct. 18, 2012
Week 9 | illinois state at Bradley, northern iowa |
Date: at Bradley (Friday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m.) | at Northern Iowa (Saturday, Oct. 20 at 7 pm) |
Location: Peoria, Ill., Renaissance Coliseum | Cedar Falls, Iowa, McLeod Center |
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AudioNow: 309/319-4926 (Listen to play-by-play via landline or cellular phone) |
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NORMAL, Ill. -The Illinois State volleyball team (11-8, 5-4 MVC) hit the road to face I-74 rival Bradley (7-13, 1-8 MVC) and Northern Iowa (17-6, 8-1 MVC) to start the second half of Missouri Valley Conference play. The Redbirds will face the Braves Friday at 7:05 p.m. (CT) and will match-up against UNI Saturday at 7:05 p.m. (CT).
The Redbirds are coming off of a 1-1 weekend after losing to Creighton in three-sets, but defeating Drake in straight-sets the following night. The team was led by LeighAnn Hranka, who went errorless and recorded double-digit kills and hitting percentages above .400 two-consecutive matches against Creighton and Drake. She combined for 20 kills, a .426 average attack percentage and led ISU in hitting percentage and points against both opponents.
Illinois State ranks second in the Valley with 2.90 blocks per set and third in service aces with 1.35 per set. Ashley Rosch is the only freshman in the MVC to rank in the top-10 in kills, averaging 3.04 kills per set.
Bradley enters the weekend with a 1-8 conference record and continues to look for another MVC win after grabbing its first win against Evansville last weekend. Courtney Keefe is coming off back-to-back double-doubles and has reached double figures in both kills and digs in three of the last four outings. Libero Lauren Zerante has moved up to fourth in the MVC in digs, averaging 5.23 digs per set in league play. Illinois State has prevailed against the Braves in the past three matches of the series.
Northern Iowa is currently 8-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play and is tied for first place in the Valley with Creighton, after falling to the Bluejays and ending its 59-regular season win-streak Oct. 5. Macy Ubben was named MVC Player of the week, and Candice Burke earned honors as well as Defensive Player of the Week honors after helping UNI defeat Evansville and Southern Illinois last weekend. The Panthers have not lost a home match since Nov. 15, 2008.
Redbird volleyball games can be heard live on GoRedbirds.com and WJBC.com.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
