“What I am looking for this weekend is for the girls to play hard all the time,” Traci Dahl, Indiana State head volleyball coach said. “Whether we win or lose, I want them to leave it all on the court. This is the kind of effort we need and the kind of effort I expect from them every set we play.”

The Sycamores (6-9 overall and 1-2 in the Valley) will be at Missouri State on Friday night and then visit Wichita State on Saturday. Both matches start at 8 p.m. (ET).

Then it is back home for the Sycamores as they will host SIU-Edwardsville at 7 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, Oct. 7. Two more conference opponents visit the ISU Arena the weekend of Oct. 10 with Drake coming in for a Friday night match on Oct. 10 and Creighton visiting on Saturday, Oct. 11.

Last week, the Sycamores posted their first three-set victory of the season as they visited Chicago State and defeated the Cougars 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-18). Indiana State returned to the ISU Arena on Friday, posting a 3-2 (18-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-23, 17-15) triumph over Bradley in a Missouri Valley Conference contest. It was the first MVC win for the Sycamores after 33 straight Valley setbacks and the first conference win on the home court after 16 straight loses. The strong effort continued on Saturday despite an 0-3 (21-25, 17-25, 16-25) setback at the hands of Northern Iowa.

 “The win over Bradley was huge for these girls,” Dahl said. “I think that we have turned a major corner with the win and we will continue to build on these victories. Northern Iowa is a very good team. We just could not figure out how to close out a set against them Saturday but as we get more experience, we will get better in those situations.”

A sign of the improvement in the Sycamores is that Indiana State's six wins are the most during a season since the 2004 campaign when ISU recorded 12 victories (eight in the Valley).

“The win at Chicago State was big because it showed the girls that they can win a three-set match, something that has not happened in a long time,” Dahl said. “We are continuing to take the steps each day that needed to make us a better team.”

MISSOURI STATE BEARS (FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3 ? 8:00 P.M. ET)

The Missouri State Bears are currently 9-6 overall and 1-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bears split in MVC action last weekend, losing 1-3 at Creighton on Friday (19-25, 21-25, 25-23, 18-25) but then bouncing back with a 3-1 victory at Drake on Saturday (23-25, 25-21, 25-16, 28-26).

This will be the 45th meeting between Indiana State and Missouri State since 1982 with the Sycamores winning just once in the previous 44 matches. That win, however, came at Missouri State during the 1994 season when the Sycamores topped the Bears 3-2. Missouri State won both meetings last year.

Live stats from the match will be available at

http://www.missouristatebears.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=138

WICHITA STATE SHOCKERS (SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4 ? 8:00 P.M. ET)

The 14th ranked Wichita State Shockers are undefeated on the season at 14-0 and a perfect 3-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Shockers won a pair of road Valley matches over the weekend, winning in three sets at Drake on Friday (25-17, 25-21, 25-21) and then winning at Creighton in four sets on Saturday (26-16, 22-25, 27-25, 25-23).

This will be the 42nd meeting between Wichita State and Indiana State with the Shockers winning the last 11 meetings and holding a 29-12 edge in the series which dates back to 1983. The last ISU victory came in 2002 when the Sycamores won 3-1 in the ISU Arena.

Live stats from the match will be available at

http://www.goshockers.com

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Indiana State 3, Chicago State 0 - The Indiana State Sycamores dominated from the first serve, earning their first victory in a three-set sweep (25-13, 25-14, 25-18) since defeating Iona 3-0 at the Eastern Illinois Tournament at the start of the 2007 season. Sarah Agnich had 13 kills which tied her career high she had set earlier this season against Eastern Illinois. Agnich also had a career high .611 hitting percentage in the match. Whitney Fromm had 23 assists and Shelbi Fouty 13 while Kristy Cox contributed with 15 digs.

Indiana State 3, Bradley 2 - After dropping the first set 18-25, the Sycamores came back to win three of the next four (25-21, 21-25, 25-23, 17-15) to post their second straight win on the home court this season. The victory broke a 33-match Missouri Valley Conference losing streak and a 16-straight loss streak in Valley home matches.  Freshman Stacy Qualizza had several career highs including a team high 15 kills, 36 total attacks and a .361 hitting percentage. Senior Stephanie Meier stepped up with a great effort in recording a career high 13 kills while junior Stephanie Volden had 10 kills. Junior Whitney Fromm reached the 50-assist club for the second time this season with 52 set assists while senior Kristy Cox reached the 20-dig club for the fifth time this season with 22 digs.

Northern Iowa 3, Indiana State 0 - The Sycamores took the early lead in each of the three sets played in the ISU Arena Saturday night but could not close out a set as the Panthers rallied for the three set win (21-25, 17-25, 16-25). The back court keyed the Sycamores and kept them in each set with freshman Kiya James leading the way with 12 digs. Freshman Shelbi Fouty, junior Whitney Fromm and senior Kristy Cox had 10 each. Fromm also had 29 set assists in the match.

PLAYER NOTES

WHITNEY FROMM - JUNIOR ? SETTER - Junior setter Whitney Fromm (Snohomish, Wash.) is moving up in the Indiana State career Top Ten List for Set Assists. Fromm has 517 set assists through 15 matches this season and now has 1,484 for her career, putting her eighth on the all-time list. Laura Hearne, who played at Indiana State from 1984-1986, was eighth on the all-time list with 1,418 set assists.

Fromm has joined the Missouri Valley Conference 60-Assist Club twice this season with a career high 61 against Iona on Sept. 5 and 60 against Western Illinois on Aug. 30. She is also a member of the 50-Assist Club after posting 52 against Troy on Sept. 5 and posting 52 again against Bradley Sept. 26.

Fromm is currently seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference in set assists with her 9.17 per set average and ranks 144th nationally with a 9.07 average per set for the season.

KRISTY COX - SENIOR - DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST - Sycamore senior defensive specialist Kristy Cox has been putting her name into the Indiana State record book since she first set foot on campus. The 5-foot-6 defensive specialist from Muncie, Ind., moved into second place in career digs this season and now has 1,550 for her career at Indiana State, overtaking Kelly Spisak, who had 1,422 from 2001-2004. Cox is now closing in on the top spot in the Indiana State Top Ten Career Dig list, which is currently being held by Cheryl Berg who had 1, 713 digs from 1998 to 2001.

Cox is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference 30-Dig Club this season with 35 against Eastern Illinois on Sept. 2.  The senior is currently fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference in digs with her 4.31 per set average.

The senior has also made a mark in service aces with a career high six against Troy on Sept. 5, the seventh best single match performance in school history. She now has 16 for the season and 59 in her career.

Cox also appears twice in the Top Ten of the single season digs list, posting 525 during the 2006 season (second) and 428 during the 2007 campaign (sixth). Spisak still holds down the number one spot with 595 digs during the 2004 season.

JODILYNN STOKER - JUNIOR - OUTSIDE HITTER - Junior outside hitter Jodilynn Stoker was named to the All-Tournament team at the Tiger Invitational with 75 kills in 189 attacks and just 22 attack errors for a .280 hitting percentage in the four matches played.

Stoker leads the Sycamores with 178 kills and an average of 3.02 kills per set, putting her ninth in the Missouri Valley Conference this season. She is also a member of the Missouri Valley 20-Kill Club with 20 against Western Illinois on Aug. 30.

ALISHA POLITE - SENIOR ? SETTER - Senior setter Alisha Polite, who missed the early part of the season due to injury, led the 2007 team in set assists with 551 and posted two triple-doubles during the season, one of just two Missouri Valley Conference players to accomplish that feat. Polite was 10th in the MVC in set assists and ranked 281st nationally. Polite was also 25th in the Valley in service aces with 19.

Polite is currently 10th on the Sycamore career set assist list with 862, passing Christina Marx (1999-2002) who had 824 in her career at Indiana State.

The senior from Valparaiso, Ind., was also third on the team in digs with 191 during the 2007 season.

STACY QUALIZZA - FRESHMAN - MIDDLE BLOCKER - Freshman middle blocker Stacy Qualizza had a career night against Bradley, recording 15 kills in 36 attempts with a .361 hitting percentage. Qualizza is averaging 1.74 kills per set.

KIYA JAMES - FRESHMAN - DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST - Freshman setter Kiya James has reached double digits twice this season in digs with a season best 13 against Iona on Sept. 5 and then recording 12 against Northern Iowa on Sept. 27. James also has 12 services aces so far this season.

SHELBI FOUTY - FRESHMAN ? SETTER - Freshman Shelbi Fouty joined the 20-assist club earlier this season with 20 against Southern Illinois on Sept. 19. Fouty has been in double digits in assists four times this season and is averaging 4.06 assists per set.

SYCAMORES IN THE RANKINGS - Indiana State is ranked 71st in the nation in digs per set with an average of 15.10 dps. All MVC schools are in the top 90 in the nation led by Southern Illinois, who is 12th at 16.93 dps. The Sycamores are also 206th in aces per set (1.20), 188th in assists per set (10.90), 212th in hitting percentage (.174), 205th in kills per set (11.63) and 203rd in W-L percentage (.400). Individually, Fromm is ranked 144th in assists per set (9.07), Kristy Cox is 75th in digs per set (4.31), and Stephanie Volden is 306th in hitting percentage (.264).