NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team will continue its challenging nonconference slate this weekend, when the team travels to Indianapolis, Indiana, for the Top Dawg Challenge.
The Redbirds (2-1) will open the tournament with a match-up against Eastern Illinois (2-2) on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. CT, before wrapping up competition on Saturday against Auburn (1-1) at 9 a.m. CT and tournament host Butler (0-3) at 6 p.m. CT.
Scouting the Opponents
Illinois State has the longest-standing history in this tournament with Eastern Illinois, as the Redbirds hold a blistering 23-1 series advantage over the Panthers. The Redbirds' only loss to the Panthers came in 1987 in five sets, and this will be the first meeting between the two programs since 2007. Illinois State and Auburn are tied in their series at one game apiece, as the two programs haven't matched up against each other since 1991 at a neutral site. The Redbirds won the first three meetings, in three-straight seasons (1992-94), against the Bulldogs, before Butler took the most recent meeting in 2013, in five sets.
New Kids on the Block
Newcomers Kaylee Martin and Marissa Stockman led the pack this past weekend at the Benson Hospitality Invitational at the University of Georgia, combining for 53 of the team's 147 total kills (36 percent) and 59.5 points (32 percent). Martin led the team with 31 kills and a team-best 2.82 kills per set. Stockman stood tall at the net, combining for 10 blocks over the three matches, including three of the team's tournament-best 10 blocks against Furman on Friday. Martin also made her presence known against the Paladins, registering a game-high 18 kills on .486 hitting in her debut as a Redbird.
Dirty Defense
The Redbird defense played a major role this past weekend, as Illinois State held its three opponents – Furman, Coastal Carolina and Georgia – to a .208 hitting percentage. Illinois State held its second opponent of the 2018 season – Coastal Carolina – to a .071 hitting percentage, including a .022 attack percentage in the second set of the Redbirds' sweep. In 11 of Illinois State's 35 matches in 2017, the Redbirds held their opponents to below a .100 attack percentage and will look to do the same in 2018.
History in the Making
Courtney Pence led all Redbirds defensively on the court this weekend with 65 total digs, averaging 5.91 digs per set, and earned the Missouri Valley Conference's Defensive Player of the Week nod for the 11th time in her career, the league office announced on Monday. The All-American libero currently has 2,148 digs on her resume, and will need just 508 to tie UNI's Ellie Blankenship's mark in the Valley record book for the most all-time, which was set back in 2007-10.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
