ISU volleyball announces 2015 schedule

Posted on May 6, 2015
Illinois State volleyball
(Photo courtesy goredbirds.com)

By ISU Sports Information

NORMAL – Illinois State head volleyball coach Melissa Myers announced her team’s 2015 schedule, including appearances at four tournaments and a full Missouri Valley Conference slate, on Wednesday.

Illinois State will host three teams in the Country Financial Volleyball Classic, at Redbird Arena, Sept. 11-12, in addition to traveling to play at tournaments hosted by Miami (Fla.), Harvard and Dayton. The Redbirds will play five squads that competed in the NCAA Tournament in 2014, before beginning the conference portion of their schedule in late September.

The Redbirds will take on 2014 NCAA Tournament participants Dayton, Jacksonville, Kansas State, Long Beach State and Miami (Fla.) early in the season. Illinois State will also take on Harvard, Jacksonville and Youngstown State for the first time in program history.

“There is no better way for our team to open the season than to be challenged by this tough non-conference slate,” Myers said. “The bar is set high and we will be tested early, but it will be a great opportunity to learn and improve in preparation for the Missouri Valley.”

The Redbirds will open the season Aug. 28-29 at the Hurricane Invitational, in Coral Gables, Florida, where they will play host Miami (Fla.), Kansas State and Florida A&M.

Illinois State will head to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to play in the Harvard Invitational, Sept. 4-5. There, the Redbirds will take on Harvard, Long Beach State and Rutgers.

The Redbirds will return to campus to host the Country Financial Volleyball Classic, welcoming in opponents Youngstown State, IUPUI and Toledo. The Redbirds will then travel for a mid-week, non-conference game at Illinois-Chicago Sept. 15.

Illinois State will make its final early-season tournament appearance Sept. 18-19 at the Flyer Invitational, hosted by Dayton. The Redbirds’ opponents there will be Dayton, Jacksonville and Eastern Michigan.

The Redbirds will open MVC play on Sept. 25 at Missouri State, beginning a stretch of 18-consecutive league matches, culminating in a regular-season finale against Indiana State on Nov. 20 at Redbird Arena.

The MVC Tournament will be held Nov. 26-28.

Illinois State posted an overall mark of 27-6 last fall, including a perfect 18-0 mark in league play. The Redbirds won their first Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles since 1997. Illinois State made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007 and won its first NCAA Tournament match since 1996

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