NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team will play its final regular-season road match of 2017 when it heads to Missouri Valley Conference foe Bradley on Saturday. The match begins at 7 p.m.
Illinois State (17-11, 10-5 MVC) will complete the road portion of its MVC double round-robin circuit with Saturday's match against Bradley (9-20, 2-13) in Peoria. Illinois State returns to Redbird Arena to host Indiana State and Drake next weekend, Nov. 17-18, before hosting the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament the following week. Illinois State will welcome the top six league teams to Redbird Arena for the conference tournament, Nov. 23-25.
"We continue to train hard and improve every week in our gym. We want to be better this weekend than the weekend before," said Illinois State head coach Leah Johnson. "I am proud of how focused this team has been and how determined they are going into this match. Bradley is very good on their home court and have one of the best outside hitters in the league."
Illinois State had a successful road trip last weekend earning 3-0 sweeps at both Valparaiso and Loyola Chicago. The Redbirds overcame early deficits of seven-or-more points in both the first and third sets in their sweep of Valpo on Friday. Illinois State used a similar blueprint in its win at Loyola on Saturday, rallying late to win a tight opening set before closing out the Ramblers in a straight-sets win.
Junior libero Courtney Pence was recognized for her stellar play over the weekend as she was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week for a league-record 10th time in her career.
Illinois State will face a Bradley team Saturday currently on a four-game slide. The Redbirds own a 56-8 edge in the all-time series versus the Braves, and have won the past 13 meetings, dating back to 2011. The most recent victory came on Oct. 13 at Redbird Arena.
Saturday's match will be broadcast live on The Valley on ESPN3. Links for live video and live stats are available at GoRedbirds.com, and fans can follow @RedbirdVB on Twitter for live updates and more.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
