NORMAL, Ill. – For the first time in 2023 MVC play, Illinois State Volleyball hits the road for a pair of conference matches this upcoming weekend. The Redbirds will go head-to-head with Murray State on Friday night before facing off with Belmont on Saturday.
First serve is set for 6:00 p.m. CT Friday night while Saturday's match gets underway with first serve at 5:00 p.m. CT.
SCHEDULE
Illinois State (2-12) at Murray State (8-4)
Date & Time: Friday, September 29, 2023 • 6 PM
Location:Â Racer Arena
Live Coverage: WATCHÂ |Â LIVE STATS
Illinois State (2-12) at Belmont (8-9)
Date & Time: Saturday, September 30, 2023 • 5 PM
Location:Â Curb Event Center
Live Coverage: WATCHÂ |Â LIVE STATS
WINNING IN WISCONSIN
Illinois State collected its first two wins of the 2023 season with sweeps over St. Thomas and Green Bay at the Capital Credit Union Classic on September 15-16.
It was the first-ever meeting between the Tommies and Redbirds while ISU picked up their fourth win in the last five matches against the Phoenix.
'BIRDS SHOWING POWER
In the sweep over St. Thomas on Sept. 15, Illinois State swung to a team hitting pct of .505%, marking only the fifth time in program history that an ISU team has hit .500% in a match.
The last time prior to last weekend came in September 2016 versus Tennessee Tech (.536).
MILESTONE WATCH 👀
Graduate student Mari Hinkle sits only 3 digs away from reaching 1,000 career digs, as she has amassed 214 digs as a Redbird heading into the weekend. Hinkle sits 23rd in the NCAA for digs per set with a mark of 4.98.
WE MEET AGAIN
Friday will mark only the fourth time Illinois State and Murray State have met on the court. Meanwhile, Saturday will see Belmont and ISU meet for the second time ever, one year after ISU swept the Bruins in the inaugural series matchup.
In the series history, Illinois State is a combined 3-1 versus the Racers and Bruins (2-1 versus Murray State; 1-0 versus Belmont) as the Redbirds will look to gain its first road series win in Murray and second straight in Nashville.
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:Â Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
