NORMAL, Ill. – For the second-straight season, the Illinois State volleyball program is set to host the Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Tournament at Redbird Arena. The tournament, set for November 25-27 will kick off tomorrow, November 25 at 3:30 p.m. with the first match of the quarterfinal round.
The Redbirds are seeking their third-straight MVC Tournament title and a fourth-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance this weekend. Illinois State, who earned the No. 2 seed, will have to await the outcome of the second quarterfinal match between No. 3 Bradley and No. 6 Indiana State to find out their opponent for their Friday, November 26 match, set for 6 p.m.
Illinois State is hosting the conference tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time 1988-1989. The 'Birds and UNI are the only two programs to have hosted in consecutive seasons in conference history with the Panthers previously hosting in 2010 and 2011 as well as 1986 and 1987.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Tickets are still available for all sessions or a single session here. For fans who can't make the trip to Normal, all five matches will be broadcast on ESPN+.
MVC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Illinois State stands 6-0 in MVC finals held in Normal, also winning on its home court in 1997, 1992, 1989, 1988 and 1983. The last time any host school won the MVC Tournament prior to the 'Birds this past spring was Wichita State in 2013, while ISU became the first team to win back-to-back titles since Wichita State won the 2015 and 2016 tournaments.
SURVIVE AND ADVANCE
Illinois State is seeking its third-straight Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title and fourth-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance this week. Should the 'Birds win their third-straight tournament title, it would mark Illinois State's 13th MVC Tournament Championship. Currently with 12 titles, Illinois State trails only UNI who has 17 MVC Tournament titles. Winning the Valley Championship would give the Redbirds the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, marking the team's fourth-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and the first time since 1982-1985 that an Illinois State team qualified four years in a row.
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 1,552 kills heading into their final regular season match of the season. Illinois State, who ranks 17th in the NCAA for total kills this season, is second in the Missouri Valley Conference in total kills, just two behind No. 1 Loyola-Chicago. The Redbirds had 930 of their total kills (13.68 kills/set) come during conference action. ISU averaged 13.5 kills/set during the entire 2021 regular season.
REDBIRD BLOCK PARTY
The Redbirds have conference-leading 282 blocks this year, ranking 15th 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 103 total blocks on the year, including 13 block solos and 90 block assists for an average of 1.12 per set. Jordan is not far behind with 80 total blocks this season, including five block solos and 75 block assists for an average of 0.99 per set. During MVC play, the pair ranks takes up two of the top-five spots. Lund leads the Valley, averaging 1.44 blocks per set, while Jordan is fifth during conference action, averaging 1.14 blocks per set. Of Lund's 103 blocks this year, 65 have come during conference play, while 67 of Jordan's 80 have come in league play.
SETTING UP FOR SUCCESS
With 1,444 assists through 30 matches this season, the Redbirds are second in the Valley and rank 16th in the NCAA for total assists throughout the 2021 season thus far. Led by the setting duo of Katelyn Lefler and Nora Janka, 864 of ISU's 1,444 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 ninth with 5.90 assists/set and Lefler coming in at 10th with 5.82 assists/set in MVC matches. Janka's 401 assists in Valley matchups ranks eighth among her conference opponents.
REDBIRD RECORD BOOK
Numerous Redbirds have etched their names into the Redbird Volleyball record book this season. Sophomore Tamara Otene ranks second all-time in Illinois State history for total kills by a Redbird sophomore with 457 and is just 38 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 1,177 digs and has the fourth-most digs ever by Redbird junior in a single season with 551. Both Illinois State setters have had exceptional seasons with freshman Katelyn Lefler currently sitting sixth all-time for assists by a Redbird freshman and 18th on the career assists list with 682 during her debut season for the 'Birds. Sophomore setter Nora Janka's 583 career assists rank 21st in the Redbird record book, while her 476 this season are the 10th-most in school history by an Illinois State sophomore.
TERRIFIC TAM
The Missouri Valley Conference kills leader is not only one of the best players in the league, she's also one of the best in the nation, ranking 20th in the NCAA with 457 kills and 25th in the NCAA with 505.5 total points this season. Of sophomore Tamara Otene's 457 kills, 305 came during a tough MVC schedule, where she set two 2021 conference match-highs for kills. In a five-set match against Indiana State, Otene posted a then-career-high 26 kills and then outperformed herself yet again at Loyola-Chicago in a four-set match, notching a now career-best 27 kills. Otene has finished with 10+ kills in 25 of ISU's 30 matches this season, including seven times with 20+ kills in a single match. The Auckland, New Zealand native, has recorded 5 double doubles during the 2021 season.
Leading the next closest player by 34 kills, Otene ended the regular season with the most total kills in the MVC with 305 in league play, averaging a conference best 4.49 kills/set. She also leads the Valley with 340 points during conference action, averaging 5.00 per set, the only player to average five per set.
CAN YA DIG IT?
Junior Kaity Weimerskirch leads the Valley and ranks 16th in the nation with a conference-leading 551 total digs this season, averaging 4.79 digs/set. During MVC matches, Weimerskirch averages a conference-leading 4.91 digs per set. The Brooklyn Park, Minnesota native's 334 digs during MVC play lead the league.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.
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