Volleyball Opens Home Stretch on Thursday with Northern Iowa

NORMAL, Ill. - After opening the MVC season with a weekend sweep - and riding a five-match win streak - the Illinois State volleyball squad opens a four-game homestand on Thursday, hosting the Northern Iowa Panthers.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Thursday, October 1
    6 p.m. - vs Northern Iowa - STATS | WATCH
Friday, October 2
    6 p.m. - vs Drake - STATS | WATCH

QUICK HITTERS

• ISU junior Ruth Ziegler ranks 10th in the NCAA this season in service aces per set, as she is averaging 0.69
• The Redbirds are 11-2 for the first time since the 2004 team also opened the season 11-2. The start is the eighth-best 11-game start to a season in program history
• 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 game 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
• Illinois State ranks inside of the top-100 in the NCAA in seven categories, including in aces per set (11th - 2.13), winning percentage (14th - .846), digs per set (37th - 15.36), kills per set (56th - 13.33), hitting percentage (59th - .253), assists per set (62nd - 12.29), and opponent hitting percentage (88th - .186)
• 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
• Illinois State junior opposite Ruth Ziegler was named to the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason All-Conference Team
• The Redbirds were picked to finish sixth of 11 schools in the 2026 MVC Preseason Coaches Poll
• Over its last 21 matches, including the last eight matches of 2025, Illinois State has a 17-4 record, including closing the 2025 season by winning six of its last eight games, and starting the 2026 season 11-2
 

BALANCING STRENGTH WITH FINESSE

This season, Illinois State junior Ruth Ziegler ranks 10th in the MVC in hitting percentage, and 16th 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 27 aces, an average of 0.69 per set, which is the 10th-highest total in the NCAA this season.

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.
 

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Despite leading the MVC in kills per set, hitting percentage, and offensive points, Illinois State is the only program in the conference to not have a student-athlete with at least 100 kills this season. ISU is led in kills by Logan Grevengoed (78), Ruth Ziegler (77), and Jillian Ferrill (76), while Jillian Gregory (62), and Abby Reck (53) each have at least 50. 

BIG WEEK FROM THE FRESHMAN

Over the past week, Illinois State freshman Jillian Ferrill had an outstanding week en route to being named the MVP of the Oakland Classic. She averaged 4.67 kills per set with an attack percentage of .438. Ranked 34th in the country in kills per set and 77th in attack percentage over the week, and is one of 11 players in NCAA volleyball this week, one of four freshmen, and the only player in the MVC to rank inside of the top-50 in kills and top-100 in attack percentage in the NCAA

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 96 total aces through five weekends of the season, Illinois State ranks 11th in the NCAA in aces per set. 

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 third-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.