NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State head volleyball coach Allie Matters has unveiled her 2026 schedule, which includes tournaments in New Jersey and Michigan, in addition to hosting the annual Linda Herman Classic inside CEFCU Arena.
The season is set up by a pair of exhibition matches, the first on Saturday August 15 at home against SIUE starting at 3 p.m., and that is followed a weekend later at Northern Illinois on September 22.
The regular season officially opens on Friday, August 28 when the team travels to Seton Hall – the alma mater of Matters – opening the tournament against the host Pirates with a 2 p.m. first serve in South Orange, New Jersey. The Birds also face off against NJIT (Saturday, August 29 at 11 a.m.) and Fairleigh Dickinson (Sunday, August 30 at 11 a.m.) – who went 18-12 last season – to close out the tournament.
The following weekend sends ISU into Michigan for a trio of games, the first two against the Central Michigan Chippewas on Friday, September 4 (3 p.m. first serve) and on Saturday, September 5 (1 p.m. first serve). A day later the Birds travel further east to Ypsilanti, Michigan, to battle the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Sunday, September 6 starting at 1:30 p.m.
The ISU hosts the Linda Herman Classic the following weekend, as the Redbirds invite Western Illinois, Lindenwood, and Purdue Fort Wayne into CEFCU Arena. ISU and Western Illinois meet on Friday, September 11 at 6 p.m., with Illinois State to meet up with Lindenwood a day later at 5 p.m. The tournament concludes on Sunday, September 13 when the Redbirds host the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons for a 1:30 p.m. first serve.
The final pre-conference games of the season come on Saturday, September 19 and Sunday, September 20 as the Redbirds travel to Rochester Hills, Michigan, to compete in the Oakland Invite, and will face off against Marist on Saturday, September 19 (1 p.m. first serve) and tournament host Oakland on Sunday, September 20 (1 p.m. first serve).
The Missouri Valley Conference season opens on the road on Friday, September 25 as ISU makes the trek to Chicago to take on the UIC Flames at 6 p.m., and then taking the short drive to Valparaiso, Indiana, to battle the Beacons on Saturday, September 26 at 7 p.m.
A four-game homestand follows, as ISU goes nearly three weeks without leaving Bloomington/Normal, opening with a Thursday, October 1 contest against the reigning MVC Champion Northern Iowa Panthers at 6 p.m., with the Birds taking on the Drake Bulldogs one night later, on Friday, October 2, also at 6 p.m.
Bradley comes to town on Tuesday, October 6 for a 6 p.m. first serve, while Illinois State and Indiana State will meet on Friday, October 9 at 6 p.m. for the Redbirds' only game of the weekend.
Friday, October 16 starts a two-game weekend road swing for the Redbirds, opening at Evansville with a 6 p.m. first serve, followed an evening later, on Saturday, October 17 at Indiana State with a 4 p.m. first serve. The Redbirds follow with a split weekend, opening at Southern Illinois on Friday, October 23, and concluding at home against the Belmont Bruins on Sunday, October 25 at 1 p.m. to put a close to Illinois State's Homecoming weekend.
The match against Belmont opens a stretch of four home contests over a five-match span, as the Redbirds host Valparaiso (Friday, October 30) and Southern Illinois (Saturday, October 31). ISU's lone road match during that stretch sends the Redbirds to Peoria on Tuesday, November 3 at Bradley with a 6 p.m. first serve.
Friday, November 6 – a one-match weekend – pits ISU against the UIC Flames in the Redbirds' final home match of the 2026 season. The regular season closes on Friday September 13 (at Murray State) and Saturday, November 14 (at Belmont), as the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament begins during the following week.
Last season the Redbirds were 14-16, falling in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinal to eventual tournament champion Northern Iowa in a thrilling five-set contest in Cedar Falls. ISU returns six players that played key roles for the team a season ago, and that returning nucleus will be enhanced by a strong freshman and transfer group.
