NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team will raise the curtain on the 2021 season just four months after the abbreviated 2020-21 spring campaign with a trio of matches at the JMU Invitational in Harrisonburg, Va. this weekend. The Redbirds will open against VCU on Friday at 12:30 p.m. CT, before matching up with spring NCAA Tournament participants High Point and tournament hosts JMU on Saturday.
Live stats for each match of the tournament are available with Saturday's 7 p.m. contest versus JMU streamed via FloSports ($).
UNFAMILIAR FOES
ISU's season-opening weekend at the JMU Invitational features two teams in which the Redbirds have never met before in competition (tournament hosts JMU and High Point) and VCU, who ISU has only played twice prior. The Rams were victorious over the Redbirds in both previous meetings, the last of which took place during the 2013 season.
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 Aug. 18. 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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