NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team will head to Dayton, Ohio, for the Flyer Invitational this weekend, marking the end of the team's non-conference slate.
Illinois State (8-2) will carry an eight-match winning streak into the Flyer Invitational, where the Redbirds will face Dayton (4-5), Jacksonville (3-6) and Eastern Michigan (7-3). The matches will serve as Illinois State's final tune-up before beginning Missouri Valley Conference play next weekend, Sept. 25-26, at Missouri State and Wichita State.
The Redbirds will play Dayton Friday at 6 p.m. CT, before Saturday matches against Jacksonville, at 9 a.m. CT, and Eastern Michigan, at 3 p.m. CT, at the Flyer Invitational.
"We're looking forward to another tournament against strong competition," said Illinois State head coach Melissa Myers. "This weekend will not only help prepare us for the upcoming MVC schedule, but also give us more experience playing on the road."
The Redbirds will head to Dayton fresh off a 3-1 win at Illinois-Chicago Tuesday night. Lexi Varga, who was named the MVC Freshman of the Week on Tuesday, led the team with a career-high 16 kills. Ashley Rosch added 15 kills and Jaelyn Keene registered a season-high seven blocks. Courtney Pence led all players with 25 digs.
Illinois State has won back-to-back tournaments, having posted perfect 3-0 records at the Harvard Invitational, Sept. 4-5, and the Country Financial Redbird Classic, Sept. 11-12. Rosch was named the Tournament MVP at both stops, while Keene and Varga were all-tournament team selections both weekends as well.
Illinois State has faced Dayton six times previously, and has been victorious in five of those contests; ISU's team's only loss to Dayton came in the most recent meeting, in 2009. The Redbirds won the only prior meeting with Eastern Michigan, in 1978, but have never faced Jacksonville. Both Dayton and Jacksonville participated in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
The Redbirds' match with Dayton Friday will be broadcast live online on the A10 Network, free of charge. Links for live stats, audio and video can be found at GoRedbirds.com, and fans can receive live updates from all three matches 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.Â
