CHICAGO, Ill. and VALPARAISO, Ind. - The Illinois State volleyball team concludes its 2022 road slate with trips to UIC and Valparaiso in a pair of "must-win" matches for the Redbirds.
SCHEDULE
-Friday at 6 p.m. CT: at UIC (17-9, 8-5 in 2022) | LIVE STATS
-Saturday at 5 p.m. CT at Valparaiso (20-7, 8-7 in 2022) | \WATCH | LIVE STATS
THE MVC BUBBLE BREAKDOWN (ONLY LISTS TEAMS ILLINOIS STATE CAN CATCH OR CAN STILL GO TO TIEBREAKER FOR MVC TOURNAMENT)
-Murray State (6-8): at Evansville, at Indiana State, at Belmont
-Missouri State (6-9): at UNI, at Drake, vs Southern Illinois
-Bradley (5-10): at Valparaiso, at UIC, at Illinois State
-Illinois State (4-11): at UIC, at Valparaiso, vs Bradley
-Belmont (3-12): at Indiana State, at Evansville, vs Murray State
THE PATH TO THE MVC TOURNAMENT
Illinois State must win its final three matches, have Missouri State its final three matches, and have Bradley lose at least one match against Valparaiso or UIC. Tiebreakers are expected to favor Missouri State and Bradley over Illinois State.
FRESHMEN, FRESHMEN, FRESHMEN
Illinois State freshmen have been forced to play a bigger role than initially expected for the Redbirds in the 2022 season but have stepped up in recent matches. Freshmen have recorded 343 of the team's 447 kills (76.7%) in the last nine matches. Freshmen have tallied more or the same number of kills than non-freshmen in the last 13 matches.
EMILY WEBER'S INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCES (AND LEFLER)
Freshman Emily Weber tallied 7 kills, 52 assists, 14 digs, 1 ace, 4 blocks vs Indiana State on 10/14.
Per Calvin Wetzel, Weber is one of just two players in the country to achieve that stat line in the last five seasons. The other player happens to be Redbird Katelyn Lefler, who had 7 kills, 54 assists, 17 digs, 1 ace, 4 blocks vs North Texas on 9/11/2021.
Weber recorded 8 kills, 39 assists, 12 digs, 3 aces, 3 blocks at UNI on 10/8. No MVC player has matched/exceeded this statline since at least 2007 (can also be framed as in the 25-point era - since 2008).
Per Calvin Wetzel, Weber is....
-only freshman this season to have
-----8 kills/39 assists/3 aces
-----8 killls/39 assists/1 BS
-----8 kills/39 assists/12 digs/3 blocks
-one of three players with an 8k/39a/12d/3sa/3blk statline in the country
---Weber is the only one to have a BS of those players
-one of four players in the country with 8 kills/39 assists/3 aces
Per Calvin Wetzel, Katelyn Lefler is the only player in the country to achieve a 6 kill/40 assist/17 dig/5 block stat line (from Illinois State's season-opening victory at Cincinnati on 8/26).
Illinois State is the only team in the country with two different players to have a match with 6 kills/39 assists/12 digs/3 blocks (Weber on 10/8 at UNI, Lefler at Cincinnati on 8/26)
'BIRDS BEAT NO. 25 ILLINOIS
Illinois State defeated No. 25 Illinois on 9/17 in five sets. The Redbirds have now won back-to-back matches against ranked Illinois teams (9/13/2019). The 'Birds won against the Fighting Illini on a neutral court for the first time since 1980 (lost four-straight).
No other MVC team has a ranked win in 2022.
5TH-SET COMEBACKS
Illinois State has a pair of improbable comeback wins in 2022, defeating Cincinnati (trailed 9-3 in fifth set) and Green Bay (trailed 7-2 in fifth set) in five-set thrillers, despite trailing after three sets.
MILESTONE WATCH 👀
Senior Sarah Kushner became the 17th Redbird to reach 1,000 career digs in 9/2/22's five-set victory over Green Bay. Kushner became the seventh Redbird to reach the 1,000 mark in both kills and digs. Kushner became the 22nd Redbird to reach 1,000 career kills at Indiana State on 9/24/22.
Senior Kaity Weimerskirch passed Mallory Leggett for fifth on the career digs list. Weimerskirch is at 1,705 digs entering 11/11/22. Fourth on the list is not out of reach, but Weimerskirch will be hard-pressed to make the jump as Chris Rehor-Federico finished her Redbird career with 1,806 digs.
Junior Nora Janka is became the 16th Redbird to reach 1,000 career assists on 11/4/22 vs UNI.
NEW HEAD COACH
Allie Matters is in her first season at Illinois State after four seasons at Wright State. Matters is joined by Matt DePauw (previously at Central Michigan) and Hayden Wagner (previously at Cincinnati).
PRESEASON ALL-MVC
Redbird seniors Kaity Weimerskirch and Sarah Kushner (both First Team All-MVC in 2021) were named Preseason All-MVC by the conference's 12 head coaches. ISU's two selections took up a third of the preseason team as only six players were selected.
NCAA TOURNAMENT IN 2021
The 'Birds made their fourth-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021.The 'Birds are one of only 21 teams in the nation that have made it to each of the last four NCAA Tournaments. Illinois State will seek to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the fifth-straight season for the first time in program history in 2022.
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 Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
