NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team will host a pair of Missouri Valley Conference matches this weekend, as the Redbirds welcome in league foes Loyola on Friday and Bradley on Saturday. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. at Redbird Arena.
The Redbirds, winners of 14-straight matches dating back to Sept. 12, currently lead the MVC with an unblemished 12-0 league record. The strong start in conference play matches Illinois State's best-ever start in the MVC. The 14-match winning streak is tied for the seventh-longest winning streak in program history and is the fifth-longest active winning streak in Division I volleyball.
Saturday's match against Bradley is Illinois State's annual Pack the Arena match. Admission to the match is free, hot dogs are only $1 and Illinois State's players will be available for autographs after the match.
"We need to produce a great crowd to support this senior class who will be playing two of their final four matches in Redbird Arena this weekend," said Illinois State head coach Melissa Myers. "We're also excited to welcome our honorary coaches and alumni to the matches to celebrate our 1,000th program victory."
The Redbirds earned the 1,000th win in program history on Sept. 13. That win was the second in the team's current 14-match winning streak.
Illinois State (18-5, 12-0 MVC) scored a 3-0 win over Indiana State in its most recent match, on Oct. 31 at Redbird Arena. The victory helped the Redbirds punch their ticket to the MVC Championship, as they are now guaranteed a top-six league finish, with three weeks and six matches remaining this season.
The MVC Championship will be held Nov. 27-29 on the campus of Northern Iowa, in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Redbirds currently own a two-match lead on first place in the league standings.
Loyola (7-15, 3-10 MVC) enters Friday's match in eighth place in the MVC standings and on a four-match slide. The Ramblers lost a pair of home matches last weekend, as they fell to Evansville and Southern Illinois. Illinois State scored a 3-0 win over Loyola earlier this season, on Oct. 11 in Chicago.
Bradley (1-22, 1-12 MVC) returns to action after securing its first win of the season, at home over Evansville, on Nov. 1. The Braves, currently 10th in the MVC standings, had lost their first 22 matches of the season prior to the win. The Redbirds topped Bradley on Oct. 10 in Peoria, Illinois, in the previous meeting between the two teams this season.
Illinois State owns a 15-2 all-time record against Loyola and 50-8 record against Bradley.Â
