MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Illinois State volleyball team will face a pair of ranked foes this weekend as the squad is scheduled to face No. 25 Illinois on Saturday before battling No.19 Marquette on Sunday at Marquette. The 'Birds last faced ranked opponents in back-to-back matches to open the 2020-21 season (at No. 20 Marquette on 1/22 and 1/23/2021).
SCHEDULE
-Saturday at 10 a.m. CT: vs. 25th-ranked Illinois (5-3 in 2022, 22-12 in 2021) | WATCH | LIVE STATS
-Sunday at 1:00 p.m. CT: at 19th-ranked Marquette (7-1 in 2022, 26-6 in 2021) | WATCH | LIVE STATS
FIVE-MATCH WIN STREAK SNAPPED
Illinois State was riding a five-match and 11-set winning streak into its match with Memphis, but never got anything going in the match, falling in three sets for the first time in 2022. Illinois State handily defeated Oakland and Queens earlier in the tournament led by senior Sarah Kushner's 19-kill, 16-dig performance against Queens in the sweep.
5TH-SET COMEBACKS
Illinois State already 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 Saturday's five-set victory over Green Bay. Kushner is also on pace to became the seventh Redbird to reach the 1,000 mark in both kills and digs as she is at 958 kills and 1,044 digs entering 9/17/22.
Sophomore Katelyn Lefler is on track to become the 17th Redbird to reach 1,000 career assists as she is at 940 assists entering 9/17/22.
Teammate and junior Nora Janka may beat Lefler to the punch, or will at least may become the 18th Redbird to reach 1,000 career assists as she is at 822 assists entering 9/17/22.
RECENT HONORS
BEALE STREET CHALLENGE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Sarah Kushner recorded 32 kills and 30 digs in the three matches, highlighted by a 19-kill, 16-dig performance in the sweep over Queens.
BEALE STREET CHALLENGE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Kaity Weimerskirch recorded 48 digs at a 5.33 digs/set clip.
MVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK, REDBIRD CLASSIC MVP, AND REDBIRD CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Kaitlyn Prondzinski led Illinois State with 48 kills in Illinois State's three weekend wins en route to be named the Redbird Classic MVP. Prondzinski hit a robust .407 on the weekend while needing just four sets to set a career-high with 21 kills against Oral Roberts. She has led Illinois State in kills in the last four matches and has double-digit kills in all six matches this season. Prondzinski added nine blocks.
MVC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Regan Haith led Illinois State with 15 total blocks over the weekend with at least four blocks in each match. Haith, who leads the MVC with 29 total blocks, recorded six blocks in the three-set victory over SEMO on Saturday. She also had multiple digs in each match, posting a career-high four in the Redbirds' win against SEMO.
REDBIRD CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Sarah Kushner posted 33 kills with 29 digs. Kushner added 6 aces and 4 blocks over the three matches.
REDBIRD CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Nicole Lund recorded 21 kills on a .462 hitting percentage. Lund also had 11 blocks over the three matches.
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 players were selected.
PRESEASON FAVORITES
High expectations await the 2022 Illinois State team as the Redbirds were picked by the MVC's 12 head coaches to win the conference. The 'Birds received five first-place votes.
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.
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