KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, IND. ? The Sycamore volleyball team struggled on both sides of the net for the second straight game, losing to the visiting Valparaiso Crusaders 3-0 (12-25, 19-25, 20-25) in front of 198 fans in the ISU Arena Tuesday night.
The loss drops Indiana State to 5-3 on the season. The Sycamores will look to regain their winning form at Akron this weekend where they will play in the Akron Invitational. Valparaiso won their seventh straight game as the Crusaders improved to 7-1 on the season.
The Sycamore attack was led by a trio of sophomore with Morgan Dall knocking down eight kills, Auriel Armstrong seven, and Shea Doran six. Freshman Loni Mackinson had 20 assists and junior Kiya James 12 digs. Armstrong and Doran had two blocks each.
Indiana State had the lead early in the opening set, going up 5-3 off a block by Doran. A four point Valparaiso run was answered by a three point Sycamore rally that tied the set at eight. The Crusaders, however, were able to run off eight unanswered points to take control of the set, going on to win the set 25-12.
The Sycamores never led in the second set but did force two ties and kept within striking distance for much of the set. A four point run by Indiana State cut the Crusader lead to 19-17 late in the set but that was as close as ISU would get. Valparaiso was able to stop the Sycamore momentum and win the set 25-19 to take a 2-0 lead in the game.
The third set was the best of the three for Sycamore faithful with many long rallies and fierce play on both sides of the net. Indiana State took their biggest lead of the night at 11-6 after a Valparaiso error but could not keep the momentum. The Crusaders used a 7-2 run to knot the score at 13.
The set was tied three ore time, the last at 16, before Valparaiso rolled off four straight points to take the lead for good 20-16. The Sycamores fought back to within three 23-20 on an Ana Maira Charun kill but the Crusaders scored the final two points to take the set 25-20 and the game 3-0.
Indiana State will play three matches in Akron this weekend with two coming on Friday. The Sycamores will get an early wake-up call on Friday as they take on St. Francis (PA) at 11 a.m. (ET) and then come back with a 7 p.m. game against the host Akron Zips at 7 p.m. (ET). ISU closes out the tournament on Saturday when they play Appalachian State at 2 p.m. (ET).
