Normal, Ill. – The 2023 volleyball season is entering its longest stretch away from the Pan American Center. NM State is set to play six straight matches away from home over the next two weekends, starting in Illinois. The Redbird Classic will be hosted by Illinois State on Friday, Sept. 8, and Saturday, Sept. 9. The four-team tournament will feature NM State, Illinois State, Miami (OH) and Saint Louis. 
 
The Aggies' schedule for the weekend is listed below:
 
Friday, Sept. 8
Match 1 - @ Illinois State, 11:30 a.m.
Match 2 - vs. Miami (OH), 4:00 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 9 – vs. Saint Louis, 11:00 a.m.
 
All Times Mountain Daylight Time (MDT)
 
Mike Jordan's team is looking to bounce back after Sunday's four-set loss to Arizona State. They did manage to take the first set from the now 6-0 Sun Devils but have their eyes on the win column this weekend. 
 
Darian Markham is a leader in every sense of the word. She led Division I after the first weekend by averaging a whopping 6.33 digs per set. While that number has dipped to 5.28 per set, the senior libero still leads Conference USA and ranks 12th in the nation in the category. 
 
Outside Hitters Ryleigh Whitekettle and Starr Williams each set career highs in kills in the Borderland Invitational last weekend. Whitekettle surpassed 20 for the first time, and Williams nearly doubled her career high from 10 to 18. The pair combined to hit .361 against San Francisco in a five-set win on Friday. 
 
SCOUTING THE REDBIRDS
The Aggies will kick off the Redbird classic against the weekend's host who enters Friday with an 0-6 overall record and wins in just two sets this season. Led by Head Coach Allie Matters who is amid her second season, Illinois State is coming off of a 2022 campaign in which it finished 12-17 overall and 5-13 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
The Redbirds' are led on the attack by outside hitter Aida Shadewald who paces the squad with 2.65 kills per set. Sophomore Emily Weber will anchor Illinois State from a setting standpoint and has big shoes to fill following the departure of Kaity Weimerskirch who became the programs' first MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honoree in 2022. Thus far, Weimerskirch is averaging 7.63 assists per set and has appeared in 19 of the Redbirds' 20 sets on the season.
 
NM State's attackers will be looking to avoid Mari Hinkle who is the Redbirds' primary Libero after transferring in from Iowa for her fifth season of collegiate volleyball. The Aggies will be looking to even the all-time series as they are 3-4 historically versus the Redbirds. NM State and Illinois State first met in 1979 and most recently crossed paths in 2017. Despite matching up seven times, this will mark just the second time the Aggies will make the 1,336-mile trip to face the Redbirds in their home gym.
 
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
Following the midday bout with Illinois State, NM State will then face off with Miami (OH) at 4 p.m. MT on Friday afternoon to close out its first day of the tournament. Currently, the RedHawks are 2-4 on the season, yet, they will have one additional match under the belt when they see the Aggies on Friday as they are scheduled to play the fourth member of the Redbird Classic, Saint Louis, at 9 a.m. that same morning.
 
A trio of RedHawks will likely drive the offensive production for Miami (OH) on Friday against the Aggies as Ellie Hanson, Chelsea Williams and Raegan Lantz each enter the weekend averaging greater than two kills per set with Hanson's 3.43 kills per set leading the way.
 
Defensively, sophomore Gentry Warrick leads the charge at the net for the RedHawks – averaging nearly one block per set (0.95). In addition to pacing the RedHawks in kills, Hanson also serves as the foundation for the RedHawks back row as her 3.67 digs per set lead all RedHawks.
 
Friday's contest will mark just the second-ever meeting between the two sides as they Aggies will look to move to 2-0 all-time against Miami (OH). The one and only meeting between the Aggies and RedHawks came in 1987 when NM State earned a 3-1 victory over Miami (OH) at the Ohio State Buckeye Invitational. Miami (OH) will traverse only 264 miles to reach the campus of Illinois State University before beginning its weekend slate of matches.
 
 
SCOUTING THE BILLIKENS
NM State's final opponent of the weekend will be the Billikens of Saint Louis who make the trip to Normal, Ill., carrying a 4-2 overall record – including wins in three of their last four matches. The Billikens are coached by Andrea Beaty who is in her first season at the helm of the program after serving as the interim head coach at Denver. Beaty will be somewhat familiar with Mike Jordan and the Aggies as her start in collegiate coaching came as an assistant at UTEP where she was on staff during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
 
Like the RedHawks, Saint Louis will display a balanced offensive attack with Emily Henken's mark of 3.62 kills per set leads a trio of Billikens who average better than two kills per set. Saint Louis' Kate Aupperle is the Billikens' top setter and enters the weekend averaging 8.32 assists per set.
 
Defensively, senior defensive specialist Carlie Rodgers will come off the bench and provide support on the back row as she averages a team-best 3.96 digs per set and is just five digs shy of 100 digs on the season.
 
The Saturday match will add another program to the Aggies' all-time opponent list as NM State and Saint Louis have never met on the volleyball court. The Billikens compete in the Atlantic 10 conference where they were voted to finish sixth in the preseason poll. From their hometown of St. Louis, Mo., the Billikens will travel just 166 miles to reach the host site for the Redbird Classic.
 

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