NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State volleyball team is seeking to break its 20-year old attendance record at its free "Pack the Arena" match against Valparaiso on Friday at 6:00 p.m. CT. Fans are encouraged to wear black to match the team, which will be breaking out its specialty black uniforms for the first time at home. The Redbirds will also host UIC on Sunday.
The current record is 5,641 on 9/11/2002 vs Stanford when Bloomington native and two-time Olympian Ogonna Nnamani returned to town.
SCHEDULE
-Friday at 6 p.m. CT: vs. Valparaiso (13-2 in 2022) | WATCH | LIVE STATS
-Sunday at 4:00 p.m. CT: vs UIC (9-6 in 2022) | WATCH | LIVE STATS
PROMOTIONS
Friday, September 30 vs. Valparaiso – 6:00 p.m. – Pack the Arena/Black Out
· Admission is free for all fans in attendance. Fans are asked to wear black attire.
· The first 200 students in attendance presenting an Illinois State University ID will take home a black specialty t-shirt presented by Young America
-First 600 students get free pizza from Pizza Ranch
· Post-match autograph session with the Illinois State volleyball players
· Concession Special: $8 Brisket Nachos
'BIRDS BEAT NO. 25 ILLINOIS
Illinois State defeated No. 25 Illinois on Saturday 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).
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 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 as she is at 1,007 kills and 1,082 digs entering 9/30/22. Kushner became the 22nd Redbird to reach 1,000 career kills at Indiana State on 9/24/22.
Sophomore Katelyn Lefler is on track to become the 17th Redbird to reach 1,000 career assists as she is at 940 assists entering 9/30/22.
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 9/30/22.
SPLIT AT EVANSVILLE, INDIANA STATE
Illinois State opened MVC play with a four-set loss before taking care of business at Indiana State. Senior Sarah Kushner recorded 15 kills and 11 digs against INS. Kushner tallied her 1000th career kill in the match. Senior Kendee Hilliard made waves on social media after diving on stop of the scorer's table when saving a ball against Evansville.
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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