NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State has announced its 2017 volleyball schedule, which includes four nonconference tournaments on consecutive weekends to start the season – including one hosted at Redbird Arena – before a full slate of Missouri Valley Conference matches that will culminate with the MVC Tournament, which will be hosted at Redbird Arena for the first time since 2006.
Season ticket packages are available now for $40 from the Illinois State Athletics Ticket Office. All-session passes for the MVC Tournament are also available and priced at $25 for adults and $15 for children. Single-match tickets will go on sale July 20 at 9 a.m. Tickets can be purchased online at GoRedbirds.com/tickets, by calling (309) 438-8000, or by visiting the Illinois State Athletics Ticket Office at the north entrance to Redbird Arena.
Illinois State will play 10 matches against teams that competed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. The Redbirds will face NCAA Tournament qualifiers Baylor and Florida State, as well as UC Santa Barbara, at the Hampton Inn & Suites Waco North Baylor Invitational to start the season, Aug. 25-26, in Waco, Texas. The Redbirds will then play in the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic, hosted by Saint Louis, with matches against Kennesaw State, UC Irvine and the Billikens, Sept. 1-2.
The Redbirds will host the Redbird Classic Sept. 8-9 at Redbird Arena. The field will include 2016 NCAA Tournament participants Cincinnati and Dayton, as well as Seton Hall.
Illinois State will play its lone midweek nonconference tilt on Sept. 12, as the Redbirds travel to face off against Northern Illinois, another 2016 NCAA Tournament qualifier.
The team's final nonconference tournament will send the Redbirds to Tucson, Arizona, to the Wildcat Classic. There, Illinois State will face New Mexico State, William & Mary and host Arizona, who advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in 2016, Sept. 15-16.
Missouri Valley Conference play will begin Sept. 22 when the Redbirds host defending MVC regular-season champion Missouri State. The double round-robin schedule will conclude Nov. 18 when the Redbirds host Evansville on Senior Night.
The MVC Tournament will be held at Redbird Arena over Thanksgiving weekend, with five matches over three days, Nov. 23-25.
All Illinois State home matches and MVC Tournament matches, as well as most MVC regular-season matches, will be broadcast live as part of The Valley on ESPN3.
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