NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team will be busy the next four days, as the squad is set to play three matches in four days, beginning this weekend when the Redbirds host Loyola-Chicago and Valparaiso October 15-16.
The 'Birds are hoping for a packed house on Friday, October 15 when they take on the Ramblers with free admission available to all fans as a part of ISU's Pack the Arena promotion. First serve against Loyola-Chicago is set for 6 p.m. Illinois State will then welcome Valparaiso to Redbird Arena on Saturday, October 16 with a 7 p.m. start time.
The Redbirds will take a quick drive along I-74 on Monday, October 18 to conclude their busy four days at Bradley. ISU's match against the Braves is set to begin at 7 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
vs. Loyola-Chicago | WATCH | LIVE STATS
vs. Valparaiso | WATCH | LIVE STATS
@ Bradley | WATCH | LIVE STATS
AROUND THE ARENA
Admission to Illinois State's match against Loyola-Chicago on Friday, Oct. 15 is free to all fans for the Redbirds' Pack the Arena promotion. Directly following the match, men's and women's basketball will host the annual Hoopfest event.
LAST TIME AGAINST LOYOLA-CHICAGO
For the second time in as many seasons, the Illinois State volleyball team won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship as the Redbirds defeated the Loyola Ramblers in four sets inside Redbird Arena on April 3, 2021. With the victory, the Redbirds earned their third-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Redbirds became the first team to win back-to-back titles since Wichita State in 2015 and 2016 and improved to 6-0 in MVC finals held in Normal, also winning on their home court in 1997, 1992, 1989, 1988 and 1983.
LAST TIME AGAINST VALPARAISO
After topping Valparaiso in four sets the previous night, the Illinois State volleyball team dropped a heartbreaking five-set match against the visitors on February 22, 2021 to split the regular-season series with the Beacons. Sarah Kushner and Kaitlyn Prondzinski led the 'Birds with 15 kills apiece.
LAST TIME AGAINST BRADLEY
The top-seeded Illinois State volleyball team used a 25-kill outing by Kaylee Martin and a strong defensive showing to come out on top of a four-set battle with I-74 rival and No. 4 seeded Bradley in the semifinal round of the Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Championship on April 2, 2021. Martin's 25 kills matched a four-set career high, while Stef Jankiewicz led the Redbirds with 47 assists and 26 digs.
OTENE OUTSTANDING
Sophomore Tamara Otene continues to rise the occasion match after match to lead the Redbirds, combining for 31 kills on the weekend over Illinois State's two matches. In ISU's win over the Sycamores, Otene recorded a match-high 21 kills on a .326 hitting percentage to lead the Redbirds' trio of athletes who finished with double-digit kills in the match. With her 21 kills, Otene tied her four-set career-best and notched 20+ kills for the fourth time this season, including three times in five games. Against the Purple Aces of Evansville, Otene finished with 10 kills on a .333 hitting percentage, which marks the seventh-straight match and 15th time this season she has finished with at least 10 kills. Over ISU's seven sets played over the weekend, Otene averaged 4.42/kills per set. Currently, she leads the Valley in kills per set and is second in points per set and total number of kills through six MVC matches played.
KUSHNER KRUSHING IT
Junior Sarah Kushner has gone seven-straight matches with double-digit kills and eight-straight matches with double-digit digs, finishing every conference match this season with a double-double (digs/kills), with 13 total double-doubles so far this year. Kushner's 13 double-doubles are the most of any Missouri Valley Conference athlete, currently with two more than the next closest individual. The outside hitter from Naperville, Illinois, posted 17 kills and 15 digs in Illinois State's win over Indiana State and finished with 11 kills and 10 digs against Evansville.
FRESHMAN PHENOM
Freshman Aliyah Moore registered 12 kills in each of the Redbirds' matches this past weekend, hitting above .500 against both Indiana State and Evansville. The Surprise, Arizona native hit .524 in Illinois State's win over the Sycamores, while also adding three assists (a career best), four digs and one block in addition to her 12 kills. Moore hit above .600 for the second time in her career, finishing with a .611 hitting percentage with 12 kills against Evansville. The freshman has finished with double digits in the kills category in five of the Redbirds' six conference matches this season and eight total times on the year. Moore averaged 3.42/kills per set over ISU's seven sets. Moore is hitting a team-best .307 in conference play and currently has the eighth-best hitting percentage in the league through Illinois State's six MVC matches.
CAN YA DIG IT?
Junior Kaity Weimerskirch is quickly approaching the 1,000-career digs mark with 949 career digs heading into ISU's next three matches. Weimerskirch, who needs just 51 more digs to reach the milestone, would become only the 16th Redbird in school history to register 1,000 career digs. Currently with 949 digs, the libero ranks 23rd in school history and 151st on the NCAA active list. Weimerskirch's 4.61 digs/set this season ranks 61st in the NCAA, while her 323 total digs during the 2021 season rank 30th in the nation.
ROAD TO 100 WINS AT ISU
In only her fifth season at the helm of the Illinois State volleyball program, Head Coach Leah Johnson is approaching her 100th victory as a Redbird. Johnson needs just eight more wins to reach the milestone win even with a shortened season in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since taking over as ISU's head coach in 2017, Johnson has coached the 'Birds to three 20+ win seasons, three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, two MVC Tournament titles and three MVC regular season titles.
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