MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Illinois State volleyball team will ride its three-match winning streak into Memphis as the Redbirds are scheduled to face Oakland, Queens (Charlotte), and Memphis over September 9-10.
SCHEDULE
-Friday at 9 a.m. CT: vs. Oakland (3-3 in 2022, 15-15 in 2021) | LIVE STATS
-Friday at 4:00 p.m. CT: vs. Queens (Charlotte) (2-4 in 2022, 16-13 in 2021) | LIVE STATS
-Saturday at 12:00 p.m. CT: at Memphis (4-3 in 2022, 13-19 in 2021) |WATCH| LIVE STATS
REDBIRD CLASSIC SWEEP
Illinois State went 3-0 on its home floor with victories over Oral Roberts, Green Bay, and SEMO. Junior Kaitlyn Prondzinski (48 kills, .407%, 9 blocks) was named the tournament's MVP while Sarah Kushner (33 kills, 29 digs, 6 aces, 4 blocks) and Nicole Lund (21 kills, .462%, 9 blocks).
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.
ACING IT
Illinois State, Saint Louis (four), and South Florida are the only schools in the country with three+ matches with 12+ aces. The rest of the Missouri Valley Conference has one such match (Belmont). Illinois State's 60 service aces are third in the nation. Kaity Weimerskirch's 16 service aces are tied for seventh in the nation.
WEEKLY HONORS
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 enters 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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