NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team is set to take the court versus DePaul for a final tune-up this Saturday before opening the fall 2021 season on the road the following weekend at the JMU Invitational in Harrisburg, Virginia. First serve for the exhibition match between the Redbirds and the Blue Demons is slated for 2 p.m. CT.
Admission is FREE and fans are encouraged to use the north and east side entrances. Face coverings are required in all public indoor spaces to align with updated CDC masking recommendations.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEMONS
DePaul finished the spring slate with a 6-5 overall record and were picked to finish sixth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll, collecting 48 points to tie with UConn for the position.
Head coach Marie Zidek is in her fourth season at the helm of the DePaul program, holding a 25-45 overall record in that span.
MVC PRESEASON POLL
ISU was picked to repeat as the MVC champions in a poll of the league's head coaches, the conference office announced on Wednesday. The Redbirds received 79 points and three first-place votes.
Additionally, returning All-MVC Second Team selection Sarah Kushner was placed on the Preseason All-MVC Team. The junior averaged 3.11 kills and 2.94 digs per set a season ago, while adding 34 service aces to average a Valley-leading 0.43 aces per set.
2021 SPRING SEASON
After wrapping up their 11th-consecutive winning season and fourth-straight postseason appearance under head coach Leah Johnson in the spring of 2021, the Redbirds will look to defend their MVC regular season and tournament titles this fall.
The Redbirds return three starters from a squad that finished 16-6 (11-3 MVC) in the spring to earn a regular season title as well as the tournament championship. With the tourney title, Illinois State made the program's third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Illinois State's sweep of the titles during the 2020-21 season marked the ninth-time in program history this has been accomplished by the Redbirds and the first time since 2014. The last time ISU made three-consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament was during the 1996-98 seasons.
For all latest on Illinois State volleyball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team at @RedbirdVB (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
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