NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State volleyball (5-8) will begin the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference season as the Redbirds host Murray State (5-4) and Belmont (5-7) in Normal this weekend.
The Redbirds are set to face the Racers on Friday night at 6 p.m., before taking on the Bruins at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Friday's match has been tabbed ISU's RED OUT and Eras Night match.
SCHEDULE
- Friday at 6 p.m. CT: vs Murray State (7-11 MVC in 2023) | Video | Live Stats
- Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT: vs Belmont (7-11 MVC in 2023) | Video | Live Stats
PROMOTIONS
Friday, September 27 vs Murray State – 6:00 p.m. – RED OUT / ERAS NIGHT
· Illinois State fans are encouraged to wear red for the match versus Murray State
· Eras Night t-shirt giveaway for first 250 ISU students in attendance.
2024 PRESEASON MVC ACCOLADES
Junior Aida Shadewald collected preseason All-MVC honors after earning All-MVC First Team honors in 2023. The Wisconsin native joins members from UNI, Drake, Evansville, and Murray State on the 2024 preseason All-MVC team.
Illinois State was selected fourth in the 2024 MVC preseason poll, receiving one first-place vote.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Illinois State freshman Khenedi Guest was named MVC Freshman of the Week following a stellar weekend for the Birds in Florida at the Owls Paradise Classic.
Guest finished the weekend with 37 kills on a .500 clip, including a career-high 14 kills on 20 swings, hitting .550 against Stetson.
Heading into this week, Guest is seventh in the MVC for hitting percentage (.289) and tied for 10th in blocks with 37, including nine block solos which is fourth in the MVC.
AUPIU, AUPIU, AUPIU
Illinois State senior setter Mekaila Aupiu has fit right in since joining the Redbirds prior to the 2024 season.
Aupiu leads the team and is sixth nationally with 493 assists, tied for third on the team in block solos (4) and ranks 99th in the NCAA for assists per set (8.96).
EXTRA, EXTRA
Illinois State claimed a 3-0 sweep over Army in the Billiken Invitational on September 6 with a 32-30 set three win.
The 32 points are the first time Illinois State has scored 30+ points to win a set since November 2019 versus Drake (31).
For all the latest on Illinois State volleyball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
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