NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team will be making its 15th NCAA Tournament appearance on Friday, when it takes on the No. 4 national seed Wisconsin in the opening round. The Redbirds earned the Missouri Valley Conference's automatic bid with a sweep of top-seeded UNI at the McLeod Center on Saturday night.
First serve between the Redbirds and the Badgers is set for 7 p.m. CT at UW Field House. The other portion of the four-team sub-regional in Madison, Wisconsin, features UCLA and Notre Dame, who will play prior to Illinois State and Wisconsin. The winners will play on Saturday, Dec. 7 and the champion will advance to the regional semifinals with a chance to advance to the Division I Women's Volleyball Championship final site in Pittsburgh.
ABOUT THE REDBIRDS
Illinois State became the first No. 3 seed to ever win the MVC volleyball crown during the six-team format (0-10 previously) with its straight-set win over the Panthers to secure its 11th tournament title in program history. Setter Stef Jankiewicz was named the championship's Most Valuable Player, while outside hitters Kaylee Martin and Sarah Kushner each earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team. The Redbirds will carry an eight-match win streak into the NCAA Tournament and boast a trio of all-conference performers in Jankiewicz, Martin and Sydney Holt.
ABOUT THE BADGERS
The Badgers won the 2019 Big Ten Championship and will be making their 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance, holding a 46-22 all-time record at the dance. Last season, Wisconsin made it to the NCAA Elite Eight, defeating Green Bay, Pepperdine and San Diego, before falling to Illinois in four sets.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Illinois State is 3-14 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, with trips in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2014 and 2018. The Redbirds are making their first repeat appearance since the 1997-98 seasons, after earning the program's fourth at-large bid in 2018 as the MVC Regular-Season Champions with an impressive 25-8 overall record and ranking No. 31 in RPI.
The Redbirds' last victory at the dance was in 2014, when ISU battled back from an 0-2 deficit against Marquette for its first post-season tournament win since 1996, before falling to Wisconsin in the second round.
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