ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Illinois State volleyball freshmen Aida Shadewald and Regan Haith were named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Team, as selected by the conference's 12 coaches and announced Saturday.
Illinois State was the lone school with multiple players on the six-member All-Freshman team. Illinois State last had multiple players on the All-Freshman team in 2015 (Ali Line, Courtney Pence, and Lexi Varga).
Shadewald, a Prarie du Sac, Wis. native, led the Redbirds with 303 kills, becoming just the second Redbird freshman to lead the team in kills (Ashley Rosch, 2012). Her 303 kills rank eighth among Redbird freshmen all-time. Shadewald is also the second Redbird freshman with 300-plus kills and 30-plus aces (Chris Rehor, 1985). Shadewald had 32 aces, which is tied for sixth-most by a freshman in program history. She was a mainstay on the floor for Illinois State tallying 261 digs as a six-rotation player. Shadewald closed the season with 12-plus kills in 12 of the final 15 matches, including a career-high 17 kills at Drake on 11/5/22.
Haith, a Lincoln, Neb. native, led the Redbirds with a .247 hitting percentage, tallying 186 kills and 102 total blocks. Haith made an immediate impact with eight kills and nine blocks in the season-opening, five-set victory at Cincinnati with her nine blocks being the most in a season-opening match since 2010 (Kelsey Holman) and the most by a true freshman since 2014 (Jaelyn Keene). Haith became the first freshman since 1998 (Jenny Kabbes) to record 19 block solos, which is tied for seventh by a Redbird freshman in program history.
Illinois State finished the season 12-17 overall and 5-13 in the MVC, falling short of the MVC Tournament. Illinois State's win over No. 25 Illinois on 9/17/22 is the only win by an MVC school against a top-25 foe in 2022 (1-9).
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