NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team's 2014 schedule has been finalized, as announced Friday by head coach Melissa Myers. The Redbirds will play 11 non-conference matches amongst three tournaments prior to starting league play.
"This schedule is one of the most challenging non-conference schedules that we've had in several years and will give our team an opportunity to see and compete against some of the top teams in the nation in great, competitive environments," Myers said.
Three of ISU's non-conference opponents made postseason appearances during the 2013 season, as Central Arkansas, Oregon and Missouri qualified to compete in the NCAA Tournament. Missouri finished the season ranked No. 5 nationally. The Redbirds will face Central Arkansas, Xavier, Lipscomb and Columbia for the first time in program history.
Illinois State will play all but one match of its non-conference schedule on the road. ISU will travel to Oregon (Aug. 29-30) for the Oregon Tournament, where the Redbirds will compete against Central Arkansas, Ohio State and Oregon. Next, ISU will head to Missouri (Sept. 5-6) for the Missouri Tiger Invitational. At the Tiger Invite, Illinois State will meet Oakland, Missouri, Xavier and Lipscomb.
For its lone home non-conference match, ISU will welcome in-state rival Illinois-Chicago on Sept. 9 at 6:05 p.m. Rounding out non-conference play, the Redbirds will commute to the nation's capital to join the George Washington Tournament (Sept. 12-13), where the team has matches slated against Baylor, Columbia and George Washington.
The tough non-conference schedule aims to prepare the Redbirds for the always-competitive Missouri Valley Conference schedule.
"There are no easy matches in the Missouri Valley and this schedule will prepare the team for the tough opponents we will face throughout the season," Myers added.
ISU will open MVC play on the road, as it takes on the 2013 conference champion Wichita State (Sept. 19) and Missouri State (Sept. 20). The Redbirds will welcome in-state rival Southern Illinois (Sept. 26) for their conference opener before hosting Evansville (Sept. 28) two days later.
Then, Illinois State will be on the road for three-straight matches at Indiana State (Oct. 3), Bradley (Oct. 10) and Loyola (Oct. 11), before returning to Redbird Arena to face Northern Iowa (Oct. 17) and Drake (Oct. 18). ISU will open the second half of conference play at Evansville (Oct. 24), before traveling to Southern Illinois (Oct. 25) the following day. The Redbirds will close out October at Redbird Arena against Indiana State (Oct. 31).
Four of ISU's six conference matches in November will be home contests, as ISU hosts Loyola (Nov. 7) and Bradley (Nov. 8) followed by a weekend road trip to Northern Iowa (Nov. 15) and Drake (Nov. 16). The Redbirds will close out the regular season at home against Missouri State (Nov. 21) and Wichita State (Nov. 22). The Valley Tournament will be held Nov. 27-29, which will be hosted by Northern Iowa.
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