Volleyball Goes Back on the Road to Evansville and Terre Haute

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - After a four-match homestand, the Illinois State volleyball team goes back on the road on Friday and Saturday, as the team makes the trek to Indiana to face off at Evansville and Indiana State in a two-match weekend in the Hoosier State.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Friday, October 16
    6 p.m. - at Evansville - STATS | WATCH

Saturday, October 17
    6 p.m. - at Indiana State - STATS | WATCH

QUICK HITTERS

• Illinois State ranks inside of the top-100 in the NCAA in seven categories, including: aces per set (14th - 2.02), digs per set (28th - 15.85), won-loss percentage (33rd - .765), opponent attack percentage (67th - .181), attack percentage (79th - .239), kills per set (90th - 13.07), assists per set (97th - 12.02)
• Redbird senior Sammi Bunch was named the MVC Libero of the Week on October 12 after leading the MVC — and ranking eighth in the NCAA — in digs over the last week
• Illinois State setter Ella Craggs is just 10 assists away from becoming the 20th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000 assist mark for a career
• Against Bradley on October 6, the Redbirds held the Braves to just eight points in the second set. That is tied for the second-fewest points allwed by an ISU team in a single-set during the NCAA's 25-point set scoring era (since 2008)
• ISU junior Ruth Ziegler ranks 29th in the NCAA this season in service aces per set, as she is averaging 0.54
• Ruth Ziegler's eight service aces on September 4 are the second-most in school history, and tied for the fourth-most in an NCAA match this season, regardless of number of sets played
• Ziegler, in addition to being named to the Seton Hall Tournament All-Tournament Team, was also named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week
• Prior to her team's opening match of the season, Illinois State head volleyball coach Allie Matters - who was returning to play the tournament at her alma mater - was announced as a member of the 2027 class of the Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame
• Against Valparaiso on September 26, three different Redbird players - Ruth Ziegler, Jillian Gregory, and Sammi Bunch - each had three aces, the first time a Redbird trio has had 3+ aces since the 2014 season-opener
• When Illinois State played at the Oakland Invite Volleyball Tournament, Abby Reck faced off against each of her younger sisters, as one of her younger twin sisters (Molly) plays at Oakland, and the other twin (Mallory) plays for Marist. The three of them were all High School teammates with Illinois State setter Ella Craggs
• Over its last 25 matches, including the last eight of 2025, Illinois State has a 19-6 record, including closing the 2025 season by winning six of its last eight games, and starting the 2026 season 13-4

LIBERO OF THE WEEK

In the week where she earned her 1,000th collegiate dig, Illinois State senior Sammi Bunch has been named the MVC's Libero of the Week. She recorded 20 or more digs in each of her matches during the week, and her dig per set average led the MVC and was eighth-best in the NCAA during the week. Her dig per set average is 5.41 over her last seven matches, and she raised her dig per set national ranking from 139th to 91st over the two matches during the week. She was a key piece in helping ISU hold their opponents to a .143 attack percentage.
 

HOLDING THE BRAVES TO LITTLE

Against Bradley on October 6, the Redbirds held the Braves to just eight points in the second set. That total is tied for the second-fewest points allowed in a set during the NCAA's 25-point era (since 2008).
 

BALANCING STRENGTH WITH FINESSE

This season, Illinois State junior Ruth Ziegler ranks 17th in the MVC in hitting percentage, and 18th in kills per set. She is one of five players in the conference to rank inside of the top-20 in each of the categories.

NEW TO THE SERVING GAME

After two seasons with the Illinois State program, junior opposite Ruth Ziegler had attempted just 15 serves with zero aces - all coming during her freshman year. After no service attempts last season during her sophomore season, she has erupted this season with 29 aces, an average of 0.54 per set, which is the 29th-highest total in the NCAA this season coming into the weekend.

THREE WITH THREE ACES

Against Valparaiso, Ruth Ziegler, Jillian Gregory, and Sammi Bunch each served up a trio of aces, the first time in over a decade that the Redbirds had three players each record three or more aces.
 

LENDING A HELPING HAND

For the first time since at least 1991, the Illinois State volleyball team had three players record double-digit assists in the same match, led by Ella Craggs (13), Sammi Bunch (12), and Ella Kohnen (10). With the three players reaching double-figure assists, the Redbirds have four players this season who have reached the double-figure plateau, also the most of any team since at least 1991.
 

OPENING PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Illinois State junior opposite Ruth Ziegler has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week for the opening week of MVC play, announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon. Named to the Seton Hall Tournament All-Tournament Team, Ziegler is one of two players in the MVC to rank inside of the top-10 in both hitting percentage (third) and kills per set (ninth). She is a strong part of the Redbird offense that leads the MVC in hitting percentage after the first week of the season, including back-to-back matches hitting over .300 to close the Seton Hall Tournament (Illinois State had two of the three matches during the week in which a team hit .300 or better). Her three service aces against Fairleigh Dickinson are a career-high, and the first of her collegiate career, while her 12 kills in the finale are tied for the fourth-most in a three-set match in the MVC through the opening week, and her 17 points are the most in a three-set match in the conference. She is an integral part of ISU's .419 attack percentage against NJIT, which is the 24th-highest attack percentage in the country over the opening weekend of the year.

NON-SETTER ASSISTS

Since 1991, there have been just five times that a Redbird student-athlete from a non-setter position has had double-digit assists. Two of those five were Sammi Bunch, with the most recent occurrence coming on Sunday at Oakland. 
 

SERVING INTO THE NATION'S LEADERS

Behind 121 total aces through 17 matches season , Illinois State ranks 14th in the NCAA in aces per set at the rankings.

ACES ABOUND FOR RUTH

Against Central Michigan on September 4, Illinois State junior Ruth Ziegler had eight service aces, tied for the fourth-most in a match in program history, while it currently tied for the fourth-highest total in the NCAA this season.

ILLINOIS STATE INTERNATIONAL STUDENT-ATHLETES

This season, with two international student-athletes on the roster (Emilija Arsic from Belgrade, Serbia, and Oliwia Caputa from Zwiec, Poland), it marks the fourth consecutive season that the ISU volleyball roster has had at least two international players on it. The Redbirds have had at least one international student-athlete every season since 2020.

RETURNING THE SETTERS

Illinois State returns each of its top two assist leaders last season, as Ella Craggs had 671 and Audrey Clark had 475. The duo's total - 1,146 - is the most of any returning pair on the MVC, with the Belmont duo of Jordan Czajkowski and Alivia Keegan sitting just behind the Redbirds with 1,120. There are just four schools in the MVC to return two setters with 200+ assists.

REDBIRDS PICKED SIXTH

The Illinois State volleyball team has been selected to finish sixth in the MVC, according to the conference's preseason coaches poll. Northern Iowa was picked to finish first, earning 119 points and nine first place votes, while Drake and UIC picked up the two remaining first place votes. Five other schools: Bradley, Evansville, Indiana State, Murray State, and Southern Illinois were picked behind Illinois State; however, those results were not made available to the public.