Photo courtesy of goredbirds.com NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State volleyball team secured its third sweep of the season, defeating the Evansville Purple Aces 3-0. The win extends ISU's winning streak to four, now holding a record of 11-5 overall, with a 9-3 conference record. With the win, they are also now the number one seed in the Missouri Valley Conference. Leading the way in the Redbirds' victory was senior […]
Photo courtesy of Illinois State Athletics After a five-set battle on Sunday that Illinois State stood tall in, the after-effects may have exhausted a few Redbirds heading into Monday's encounter with the Indiana State Sycamores. Failing to secure a sweep of their Missouri Valley counterpart, the Sycamores figured the Redbirds out in four sets. Suffering their first loss to the Sycamores since 2013, under head coach Leah Johnson, the Redbirds […]
Story by Jake Fogal Image courtesy of goredbirds.com A first set win turned disaster for the Illinois State Redbirds, who dropped its next three sets to the Cincinnati Bearcats, falling apart in the process. Head coach Leah Johnson when talking about the fourth set, attributed the loss more to what Cincinnati did right compared to what the Redbirds did wrong. “I can’t really explain set four.” Johnson said. “They [Cincinnati] had a rhythm. It wasn’t that […]
NORMAL- Despite being without two of their stars, the Illinois State Redbirds (12-7, 5-2) handed Loyola (13-7, 6-1) their first conference loss when they defeated the Ramblers in four sets, (19-25, 25-19, 25-13, 26-24), Friday night at Redbird Arena. Loyola opened the match on a 7-1 scoring run that ultimately forced Illinois State Head Coach, Leah Johnson to take an early timeout. Even following the timeout, the Redbirds were never […]
(Photo courtesy of Nick Imparo) NORMAL - When the announcement that The Redbird Classic was coming to Redbird Arena was made, Illinois State Volleyball Head Coach Leah Johnson was excited for the opportunity to showcase premier volleyball in front of Redbird fans. Days before the Classic, Johnson said she was looking for her team to get a ‘significant win’. With the Redbird Classic in the books and a winner crowned, […]
(Photo courtesy of Nick Imparo) NORMAL- On Friday night in front of 3,850 energetic fans at newly renovated Redbird Arena, the Illinois State Redbirds opened the Redbird Classic with a four set (25-16, 21-25, 25-21, 25-21) victory over No. 14 ranked, Illinois. The Redbirds wasted no time jumping all over the Illini in the first set when they took a 9-2 commanding lead. A start in which Illinois State Head […]
The 2019 Redbird Volleyball Team (Photo Courtesy Anthony Ferretti/WZND). NORMAL – Competition and Drive: that's Redbird Volleyball's mindset heading into the upcoming season with a young but determined squad. Head Coach Leah Johnson helped lead the program to a 25-8 record in her second season at the helm of the Redbirds. Those 25 wins helped them earn a regular season conference championship and an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament. […]
