As they reach the halfway point of conference play, coming off a five-game winning streak and sole possession of the first place ranking in the Missouri Valley, the 16-6 (7-1) Shockers gear up to take on Illinois State and Indiana State on the road this weekend, both teams they defeated in late September.

After experimentation with a 6-2 offense, the Shockers look to find a perfect line-up, a season-long work in progress.

“Our coaching staff has been continuing to push us to the next level because they know how good we can be, and how good we want to be,” said senior Katie Reilly.

Friday night’s match will take place at 6 p.m. in Normal, Illinois. Ranked third in the conference, the Red Birds are coached by Melissa Myers and led offensively by Ashley Rosch.

Illinois State is hitting .247 percent, while WSU hits .287. The 16-6 (6-3) Red Birds are ranked No. 1 in the conference in number of kills, as well as assists, making them the tougher of the two opponents this weekend, as they lead the overall series against the Shockers 34-29.

After the Red Birds, next up on the schedule is the 14-9 (3-5) Indiana State Sycamores. The Sycamores sit at the No. 8 spot in the MVC. Led in kills by Kynedi Nalls, they linger in mediocrity on the stat boards, with a .212 overall hitting percentage, and are coached by Traci Dahl-Skinner.

Under head coach Chris Lamb, WSU is 29-4 historically against Indiana State.

The match will take place at 6 p.m. Saturday in Terre Haute, Indiana, and will be available to watch on ESPN3.

Both games will be broadcast live online at goshockers.com/watch.

Riding on their run of wins, the No. 1 Shockers are the team to beat this week.