KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
EVANSVILLE, IND. ? The Sycamore volleyball team took charge early and won the first two sets Friday but the Evansville Purple Aces came back and won the final three sets to hand Indiana State a 3-2 setback in a Missouri Valley Conference game.
Indiana State took the opening set 27-25 and then earned a 25-21 win in the second set. After the break, Evansville picked up the win in the third set 25-19 and also took the fourth set 25-22. That set up the decisive fifth set and the Purple Aces held off the Sycamores for a 15-12 win.
Senior Jodilynne Stoker led the Sycamores with 20 kills, four aces, five digs and one block. Freshman Morgan Dall had 18 kills, two assists, three digs and five blocks. Senior Whitney Fromm had a team high 23 assists to go along with 10 digs while sophomore Shelbi Fouty had 21 assists, an ace and 11 digs. Senior Stephanie Volden had a team high seven digs.
The Sycamores trailed for most of the opening set and were down 21-16 when Indiana State rallied. A pair of blocks by Volden and Dall, a kill by junior Ana Maira Charun and five Evansville errors brought ISU back to even the set at 23-all. A Charun kill put the Sycamores up by one but Evansville tied the set on a Ginta Gabruseva kill. Dall put ISU up 26-24 with a kill but Evansville's Gabruseva recorded another kill to even the set once more. Indiana State finally got the win on back to back kills by Stoker and Qualizza.
The second set was tied five times but after trailing 1-0 early, the Sycamores remained in control for the duration of the set. The action remained close through the early going with the final tie coming at 13-all. A kill by Stoker and a Fouty ace gave ISU a 15-13 and the Purple Aces would not draw even the rest o the set. ISU's biggest lead came at 22-17 after a Volden kill as the Sycamores held off Evansville to win the second set 25-21 and take a 2-0 lead into the break.
The third set proved to be the turning point of the game. Evansville came out of the break and jumped out to a 3-1 lead but the Sycamores rallied and scored four straight points to move in front 5-3. ISU's had the lead at 6-5 after a kill by Stoker but that was Indiana State's last lead of the set. Evansville rallied with four straight points to regain the advantage but the Sycamores were able to tie the set at 13-all on a Charun ace. The Purple Aces came back with three straight points and held off ISU to post a 25-19 win.
The hard fought contest continued into the fourth set as the Sycamores looked to close out the win and the Purple Aces fought to remain alive. The set looked to be dominated by the Purple Aces early on as Evansville rolled to a 14-7 advantage. Indiana State was able to fight back, rallying to tie the set at 15a-all on a pair of blocks by Dall, two by Volden, two Dall kills and one by Volden. The set had eight ties, the last one coming at 21-all on a kill by Stoker. Evansville scored four of the next five points to take a 25-22 win and even the game at 2-sets each.
The fifth set was controlled by the Purple Aces who scored the first point on a Sycamore error. The set was tied at 1-all on a kill by Dall and again at 2-all on a kill by Volden but Indiana State could not get into the lead. Evansville pushed out to a 12-7 lead but had to hold on as the Sycamores rallied on two kills by Stoker and one from Qualizza. An Evansville error moved ISU to within a point, 13-12, but the Purple Aces were able to score the final two points to earn the set, and game, win.
The Sycamores, now 5-12 overall and 1-4 in the Valley, will be back in action Saturday night as they visit the Southern Illinois Salukis in a game that starts at 8 p.m. (ET). Evansville improved to 9-7 overall and 2-2 in the MVC. The Purple Aces host Illinois State on Saturday.
Southern Illinois was defeated at home by Illinois State 3-1 (24-26, 26-24, 25-23, 25-20). The Salukis are now 12-2 overall and 2-2 in the Valley while Illinois State improved to 7-9 overall and 2-3 in the league.
