McLean County Times

The Illinois State volleyball team is preparing to compete in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Volleyball Tournament for the second consecutive year. The tournament will be held from November 23-26 at the University of Northern Iowa campus.

Illinois State, seeded fourth, will face either No. 5 Bradley or No. 8 Missouri State in their quarterfinal match on Sunday, November 24, at 3 p.m., following the outcome of Saturday's opening match between those two teams.

Fans can watch Illinois State's matches on ESPN+ or follow live stats to stay updated.

Should Illinois State win their quarterfinal match, they will advance to play against UNI, the tournament host and MVC regular season champion, in the semifinals on Monday at 3:00 p.m. The championship match is scheduled for Tuesday at 4:00 p.m.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 6 Valparaiso and No. 7 Murray State will conclude Saturday's action with a night match at 6:00 p.m. The winner will face No. 3 UIC in Sunday's quarterfinals and potentially meet No. 2 Drake in Monday's semifinals for a spot in Tuesday's final.

Illinois State has a strong history in the MVC post-season tournament with an overall record of 48-28 and is making its 41st appearance this year. The Redbirds have claimed thirteen MVC Tournament titles and five runner-up finishes.

Senior Mekaila Aupiu leads nationally with assists totaling 1,289 during this season and is one of only fourteen players nationwide to surpass over 1,100 assists this year within her conference. As a team, Illinois State ranks first in team assists (1,540) and kills (1,661), while placing fourth in total attacks (4,472) and eighth in digs (1,993).

The Redbirds are entering the tournament with momentum after securing their third consecutive win by defeating Bradley on Wednesday which secured them as the fourth seed.

For more updates on Illinois State volleyball visit GoRedbirds.com or follow them across social media platforms including X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

GoRedbirds.com provides resources such as tickets information along with merchandise details related to Illinois State sports events.