NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team will honor its three seniors following this Friday's final regular season match against Bradley. First serve on November 19 is set for 6 p.m. inside Redbird Arena with senior festivities to follow the match.
Fans are encouraged to attend Chalk Talk in the Redbird Arena Legend's Room at 5:30 p.m. on Friday to hear from Head Coach Leah Johnson.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
vs. Bradley | WATCH | LIVE STATS
CELEBRATING OUR SENIORS
Illinois State will honor its three seniors and student manager for their dedication to the Redbird volleyball program over the years. Captain Carley Nicholson, Leigha Malecha, Paige Hilliard and manager Karl Rosch will each be honored on the court following the Redbirds' match against the Braves on Friday, November 19 at 6 p.m.
KILLIN' IT
The Redbirds have been killin' it - literally - all season long, ranking as one of the best teams in the nation for total kills during the 2021 season with 1,512 kills heading into their final regular season match of the season. Illinois State, who ranks sixth in the NCAA for total kills this season, leads the Missouri Valley Conference in total kills with 890 of their 1,512 coming during conference play.
REDBIRD BLOCK PARTY
The Redbirds have conference-leading 270 blocks this year, ranking seventh in all of the NCAA. The sophomore duo of Nicole Lund and Cassie Jordan lead Illinois State with each averaging right around one block per set this year. Lund has 97 total blocks on the year, including 12 block solos and 85 block assists for an average of 1.09 per set. Jordan is not far behind with 77 total blocks this season, including four block solos and 73 block assists for an average of 0.99 per set. During MVC play, the pair ranks second and fifth overall with Lund averaging 1.40 blocks per set and Jordan averaging 1.14 blocks per set in conference matches. Of Lund's 97 blocks this year, 59 have come during conference play, while 64 of Jordan's 77 have come in league action.
SETTING UP FOR SUCCESS
With 1,406 assists through 29 matches this season, the Redbirds lead the Valley and rank seventh in the NCAA for total assists throughout the 2021 season thus far. Led by the setting duo of Katelyn Lefler and Nora Janka, 826 of ISU's 1,406 assists have come during conference play. During conference play, the pair each ranks in the top 10 for assists per set with Janka coming in at eighth with 5.98 assists/set and Lefler coming in at 10th with 5.79 assists/set in MVC matches. Janka's 389 assists in Valley matchups ranks sixth among her conference opponents.
TRIPLE THREAT
Ranking in the top-10 in the NCAA in total kills, total assists and total blocks, Illinois State is the only team in the Missouri Valley Conference to rank in the top-10 in the nation in three different categories. The Redbirds rank sixth for total kills with 1,512 so far this season, while coming in at seventh for both total assists (1,406) and total blocks (270). ISU's highest ranking in the NCAA came earlier this season when they ranked second in total kills, behind only Milwaukee.
REDBIRD RECORD BOOK
Numerous Redbirds have etched their names into the Redbird Volleyball record book this season. Sophomore Tamara Otene ranks third all-time in Illinois State history for total kills by a Redbird sophomore with 448 and is just 47 kills away from setting the sophomore record at 495 kills in a single season. Otene is also tied with Tracy Young for the eighth-most kills in a single match at Redbird Arena after posting 26 against Indiana State earlier this season. Defensively, junior Kaity Weimerskirch ranks 13th on the ISU career digs list with 1,162 digs and has the fourth-most digs ever by Redbird junior in a single season with 536. Both Illinois State setters have had exceptional season with freshman Katelyn Lefler currently sitting sixth all-time for assists by a Redbird freshman and 18th on the career assists list with 663 during her debut season for the 'Birds. Sophomore setter Nora Janka's 570 career assists rank 21st in the Redbird record book, while her 463 this season are the 10th-most in school history by an Illinois State sophomore.
TERRIFIC TAM
No one in the Valley has more kills in a four-set match this season than Redbird sophomore Tamara Otene, whose career-best 27 kills accounted for nearly half of Illinois State's 57 kills against Loyola-Chicago last Saturday. Hitting an impressive .404, Otene was just one dig shy of her second-straight double-double with nine digs against the Ramblers. The Auckland, New Zealand native keeps getting better each week with her 27 kills marking the second-straight weekend she's notched a career-high kills total. In the Redbirds' win over Valparaiso last Friday, Otene posted a match-leading 18 kills and a career-best 17 digs, marking her fifth double-double of the season. Otene averaged 5.63 kills per set and 3.25 digs per set, while hitting .301 in the Redbirds' two matches last weekened, earning her the title of Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week for the second-straight week and the third time this season. She has posted 10+ kills in 25 of ISU's 29 matches this season, including seven times with 20+ kills in a single match.
Leading the next closest player by 54 kills, Otene has the most total kills in the MVC with 296 in league play, averaging a conference best 4.55 kills/set. She also leads the Valley with 328.5 points during conference action, averaging 5.05 per set, the only player to average more than five per set. Nationally, Otene's 448 total kills throughout the entire season rank 13th in the NCAA, while her 494 points this season, rank 19th in the NCAA.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE QUEEN
Junior Sarah Kushner is tied for a Missouri Valley Conference leading 18 double-doubles this season, including 11 during league play. Kushner has notched double-digit kills in 21 matches this season, including a 10-game streak with double figures from Sept. 18 through Oct. 18. The outside hitter from Naperville, Illinois has had at least 10 digs on 19 different occasions during the 2021 season. Kushner's most recent double-double came in the Redbirds' win at Valparaiso last Friday where she finished with 12 kills and 13 digs. In that win, Kushner ended the night with 15 points, putting her past the 1,000-point milestone. Her point total is up to 1,012.5 after ISU's two matches last weekend.
CAN YA DIG IT?
Junior Kaity Weimerskirch leads the Valley and ranks 14th in the nation with 536 total digs this season, averaging 4.79 digs/set which is tied for the best average in the league. She is the only MVC player with over 500 digs this season. During conference matches, Weimerskirch averages a conference-leading 4.91 digs per set. The Brooklyn Park, Minnesota native's 319 digs during MVC play lead the league with the next closest athlete almost 50 digs behind Weimerskirch. Weimerskirch became only the 16th Redbird in school history to reach 1,000 career digs earlier this year after combining for 51 in ISU's two home matches against Loyola-Chicago and Valparaiso which was the exact number needed to reach the 1,000-dig mark after entering the weekend with 949 digs. ISU's junior captain was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week for her impressive performance against the Ramblers and Beacons.
For all latest on Illinois State volleyball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
