Illinois State NCAA Tournament First and Second Round Match Notes in PDF Format 
The Illinois State volleyball team (21-11), fresh off a second-place finish in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament (Springfield, Mo.), qualified for its 12th overall NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection, the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee announced Sunday evening. The Redbirds will take on No. 14 seed Colorado State in the University Park, Pennsylvania Regional at Ann Arbor, Mich., Friday, Nov. 30. First serve from Crisler Arena is set for 5:30 p.m. EST (4:30 p.m. CST).
In the final nine matches of the season, ISU won 18-of-22 games, including 17-consecutive games won in the middle of the six-match winning streak, and five-straight to begin the Valley Tournament. The Redbirds defeated host and fourth-seeded Missouri State in the quarterfinals and eliminated second-seeded Wichita State in the semifinal round. The Bears had 25 regular season wins, and the Shockers entered the MVC Tournament ranked No. 22 in the weekly CSTV/American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll.
"One of the most gratifying things you can be associated with as a coach is to see your team as excited and jubilant as we were when we saw our name appear on that screen tonight," said head coach Sharon Dingman. "They were all hugging and enjoying the moment, and deserve this opportunity.
"Obviously, our performance last weekend at the Valley Tournament made a huge impact in us gaining an at-large bid. But we also had some great wins in the regular season, and that was something the committee was obviously impressed with. We had a great effort last weekend, and hope to carry it over to the NCAA regionals. Our team is extremely excited about the opportunity to compete in our national tournament."
A conference record four Valley teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament. MVC Tournament champion Northern Iowa garnered the league's automatic bid, while Redbirds, Missouri State and Wichita State all collected at-large selections. The Valley had five teams ranked in the top-60 of the updated Rich Kern Percentage Index (RKPI), which included matches through Nov. 25. MSU is ranked No. 37, the Shockers are 38th, UNI is No. 43, ISU is 50th in the index and Creighton finished its season with a No. 56 RKPI. The Bluejays did not gain an at-large bid.
Colorado State finished the season with a 23-8 overall record and won the Mountain West Conference regular-season title for a record sixth time. The Rams faced seven top-50 teams this season and are ranked in the CSTV/AVCA coaches poll at No. 20. The Rams have been to the NCAA tournament 13-straight seasons, but are nationally-seeded for the first time since 2004.
ISU won 12 matches via three-game sweeps this season, and tallied three winning streaks of four or more matches. The Redbirds recorded seven wins against the final RPI top-100, and four against the top-50. ISU was 8-2 in tournament play, capturing the Redbird Classic (Aug. 25) and Ball State Classic (Sept. 8) titles, and finishing second in both the `Bama Bash (Aug. 31-Sept. 2) and last weekend's MVC Tournament (Nov. 23-24).
Illinois State has made 15 all-time postseason appearances, including 11 berths in the NCAA Tournament. The Redbirds have not played in the NCAA Tournament since the 1997 season, when ISU advanced to second-round at Redbird Arena. Playing in the opposite match will be host Michigan and Miami (Ohio), beginning at 7 p.m. at Crisler Arena. The ISU/Colorado State winner and the Michigan/Miami (Ohio) winner will face off on Saturday (Dec. 1) beginning at 7 p.m.
