NORMAL - The Missouri Valley Conference coaches know the Illinois State volleyball team lost some key performers from last year's third-place team as the Redbirds were picked to finish fifth in the coaches' preseason poll released Tuesday.

However, ISU was the only team to have two players on the preseason all-league team in sophomore setter Erin Lindsey and junior middle blocker Kari Staehlin.

Northern Iowa was picked to finish first, while defending State Farm MVC Tournament champion Missouri State was tabbed second.â€"; Defending regular-season champion Wichita State was picked third and Creighton rounded out the top four. Southern Illinois was picked sixth, followed by Bradley, Evansville, Drake and Indiana State completed the field.

ISU notched 18 victories and advanced to the Valley tournament semifinals last season. That squad graduated the senior trio of Laura Doornbos, Emily Kabbes and Ashley Grubb.â€";The Doornbos-Kabbes duo are ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in career points in the Redbird record books, while Grubb was the 2005 MVC Libero of the Year.

"I'm not surprised that the Valley coaches picked us fifth, simply because we have very little returning experience at the outside hitter position," said ISU coach Sharon Dingman.â€"; "It's what it is; it's a preseason poll.â€";

"What people don't know about us is the strength of our freshmen.â€"; The opportunity for them to come in and have an immediate impact is going to be great.â€"; And the one immeasurable thing that we have heading into the season is an extremely high team chemistry, and I believe that alone is going to win us a lot of matches.â€";"â€";

The Redbirds are led by nine returning players - eight of whom saw action as starters last year.â€"; In addition, ISU adds a group of four talented newcomers, each of which will have the opportunity to vie for playing time and make immediate contributions.â€";

The Redbird offense will run through Lindsey, the 2005 Valley Freshman of the Year.â€";The setter returns after averaging 13.09 assists-per-game last season, which ranked 21st in the nation.â€"; Lindsey claimed Valley Freshman of the Week honors four times in 2005, tying the league record for the individual accolade in a single season.

Staehlin garnered second-team all-Valley honors last season despite missing 11 matches, including nine due to mononucleosis.â€"; After not playing for more than a month, she returned to contribute 13 kills in a setback against Missouri State in the Valley Tournament.â€"; Staehlin ended the 2005 season ranked second in the MVC in points-per-game (4.40), fourth in kills-per-contest (3.80) and fifth in hitting percentage (.337).â€"; Her .319 career hitting percentage is currently the top mark in Illinois State history.

ISU opens the season Aug. 25 versus in-state rival Illinois at the State Farm Illini Classic in Champaign.â€"; ISU also plays Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Winthrop (Aug. 26) in the tournament.â€"; The Redbirds' home opener is at 7 p.m. Aug. 29 against Northern Illinois.

Redbird Fan Fair set

Bloomington-Normal community members will have the opportunity to enjoy carnival games and live music at the second annual Redbird Fan Fair, the ISU department of athletics has announced.â€";â€"; â€";â€";â€";â€";

â€";The fair will be held at "The Plaza," located in between Redbird Arena and Horton Field House on Aug. 19, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.â€";The event, which is free to the public, is being held in conjunction with the official kick off of the fall athletic season as both the Redbird volleyball and football teams will be holding Red/White scrimmages.â€";

The volleyball team will be playing at Redbird Arena at 1 p.m., while the football team will hold its annual scrimmage at Hancock Stadium, beginning at 7 p.m.

Salmon joins ISU staff

Jeff Salmon, formerly an intern in athletics media relations at Kentucky and Oklahoma, was named an assistant media relations director for the ISU athletics department.â€";

Salmon, a Geneva native, will serve as the primary contact for the Redbird women's basketball team while assisting with the development effort of the Redbird athletic department.â€";

Salmon graduated with his bachelor's degree in history from Western Illinois in 2001 and earned his master's degree from Oklahoma in 2005.