NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team will make its final road trip of the regular season when it travels to play Missouri Valley Conference matches at Southern Illinois Friday and Evansville Saturday. Friday's match is set for a 7 p.m. start, while Saturday's match is slated for a first serve at 6 p.m.
Illinois State (20-8, 10-5 MVC) returns to action after posting a pair of league wins last weekend at Redbird Arena. The Redbirds scored a 3-1 win over visiting Bradley on Friday, before rallying back from a first-set loss in an eventual 3-1 win over Loyola on Saturday.
Currently in third place in the Valley standings, this weekend's matches will have a major impact on Illinois State's seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, to be held Nov. 26-28, in Springfield, Missouri.
Southern Illinois (20-7, 11-3) currently sits in second place in the Valley standings, while Evansville (8-20, 2-12) is in ninth place and out of the conference tournament race. Only the top six teams qualify for the conference tournament, with the top-two seeds receiving opening-round byes.
Illinois State topped both of this weekend's opponents when they visited Redbird Arena last month. The Redbirds dispatched Evansville in straight sets on Oct. 16, but needed all five sets to defeat Southern Illinois the following evening, on Oct. 17.
This weekend's matches are Illinois State's final regular-season matches away from home. The Redbirds will return to Redbird Arena for their regular-season finale next Friday, Nov. 20, as they host Indiana State at 7 p.m.
Links for live audio and stats for both of this weekend's matches are available at GoRedbirds.com. Saturday's match at Evansville will be broadcast live on ESPN3, and a link to that broadcast is also available at GoRedbirds.com.
Fans can additionally receive live updates by following @RedbirdVB on Twitter.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
