The Sycamores finished the first half of the Valley season a game out of sixth place in the conference standings with the top six earning a spot in the Missouri Valley post-season tournament. Southern Illinois and Drake are tied for sixth with a 3-6 conference record while Evansville and Indiana State are tied for eighth at 2-7. Illinois State is fifth at 5-4.

To continue their quest for their first MVC tournament appearance since 2004, the Sycamores need to post victories and have five of the remaining nine Valley games at home. Road wins may prove to be important and earning a win, or two, this weekend would enhance Indiana State's chances of post-season play.

Indiana State won three conference games in each of the last two seasons and has not won more since the 2004 campaign when they won eight Valley contests.

First Time Around -

The Sycamores defeated Bradley 3-2 (29-27, 21-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13) in a marathon match in the ISU Arena on Sept. 23 with Indiana State having to rally from a 2-1 deficit to win the final two sets and open their Valley home season with the victory. Sophomore Monique Morris posting 22 kills, junior Morgan Dall 21, and senior Stacy Qualizza and freshman Samantha Kersting 10 each. Sophomore Loni Mackinson had 58 assists and senior Kiya James 27 digs while Kersting also had four blocks.

The effort of the night before plagued Indiana State the next night as they were swept by then-14th ranked Northern Iowa 3-0 (11-25, 11-25, 17-25). The Sycamores seemed to gain momentum against the Panthers in the third set but could not get a set win. Morris had eight kills and Dall seven for Indiana State while Mackinson had 20 assists and nine digs, James nine digs, and Qualizza four blocks.

Last Time Out -

Indiana State closed out the first half of the MVC season on Oct. 13 when the staged a fierce battle with the home standing Illinois State Redbirds but came out on the short end of a 3-1 score (25-16, 21-25, 23-25, 23-25.

The loss came despite the efforts of senior Stacy Qualizza and freshman Samantha Kersting. Qualizza paced the Sycamore attack with 16 kills in 28 attempts with just one error for a .536 hitting percentage while Kersting had a career high 11 kills in 18 attempts with just one error for a .556 hitting percentage.

Sophomore Monique Morris recorded her sixth double-double of the season had 10 kills and 17 digs while senior Shelbi Fouty posted her seventh double-double with 35 assists and 13 digs. Senior Kiya James led the defense with 22 digs while Qualizza also had three blocks on the night.

The Scouting Report -

SCOUTING INDIANA STATE - The Sycamores (10-10, 2-7) closed out the first half of the Missouri Valley Conference season with a 1-3 (25-16, 21-25, 23-25, 23-25) loss at Illinois State on Oct. 13.

Junior outside hitter Morgan Dall has missed the last four games for Indiana State and will be a game time decision this weekend. She continues to pace the Sycamore offense with an average of 4.58 kills per set (kps) while sophomore outside hitter Monique Morris is averaging 2.64 kps, and senior middle blocker Stacy Qualizza 2.51 kps. Dall is averaging 3.79 kps in Valley games with Morris at 3.03 kps, sophomore Molly Murphy 2.78 kps, and Qualizza 2.42 kps.

Senior Shelbi Fouty has been the top set up artist for the Sycamores this season at 7.75 assists per set (aps) while sophomore Loni Mackinson averages 3.49 aps. Fouty is averaging 6.52 aps in Valley games with Mackinson at 4.64 aps. Senior libero Kiya James keys the defense with 4.59 digs per set (dps) with Morris at 3.09 dps, Fouty 2.93 dps, and Mackinson 2.25 dps. James averages 4.09 dps in Valley games with Moris at 3.55 dps, Fouty at 3.40 dps, Mackinson 2.94 dps, and Murphy 2.39 dps. Qualizza has 44 blocks this season (0.63 per set) and 21 in Valley play (0.64 per set).

SCOUTING BRADLEY - The Braves (7-11, 1-8) have lost seven straight including a pair of games last weekend as they fell at Creighton 1-3 (20-25, 25-21, 15-25, 18-25) and at Drake 1-3 (22-25, 25-19, 22-25, 24-26). Bradley will host Illinois State on Thursday.

Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Alise Tupuritis leads the Braves attack with 3.16 kps (3.03 kps in the Valley) while sophomore middle blocker Amy Angelos averages 2.55 kps (2.54 kps in the Valley). Freshman setter Madison Kamp is averaging 9.68 aps (9.91 aps in the Valley) while senior defensive specialist Rachelle Dejean averages 3.36 dps (3.91 dps in the Valley). Angelos has 43 blocks this season (0.83) and 31 in the Valley (0.89).

Turpurtis led Bradley against Indiana State in their first meeting with 15 kills while senior outside hitter Annie Cave had 12 and junior outside hitter Madelyn Ervin 11. Kamp had 48 assists, DeJean 24 digs, and Angelos five blocks.

SCOUTING NORTHERN IOWA - The Panthers (20-1, 9-0) ran their conference winning streak to 45 with a pair of wins last weekend as they won at Drake 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-16, 25-23) and posted a 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-12) win at Creighton. Northern Iowa won their 20th game of the season on Monday when they posted a 3-2 (25-13, 19-25, 25-21, 23-25, 20-18) non-conference win at home against North Dakota State.

Five Panthers average over two kills per set including junior outside hitter Megan Lehman (2.58 kps overall/2.81 kps Valley), senior middle blocker Michelle Burow (2.55 kps/2.52 kps), junior  middle blocker Krista DeGeest (2.47 kps/2.23 kps), sophomore middle blocker Shelby Kintzel (2.47 kps/2.63 kps), and junior outside hitter Amy Braun (2.29 kps/2.74 kps). Senior setter Bre Payton averages 10.47 aps (10.58 aps Valley) and junior defensive specialist Candice Burke 4.67 dps (5.55 dps Valley). DeGeest has 97 blocks this season (1.24 per set) and 36 in the Valley (1.16 per set).

DeGeest had 10 kills and four blocks against Indiana State in their first meeting of the season while Payton had 27 assists and Burke 14 digs.

SERIES AGAINST BRADLEY - This is the 57th meeting between Indiana State and Bradley in a series which dates back to 1981. The Braves hold a 33-23 edge in the series including a 20-6 edge in games played in Peoria, Ill. Indiana State has won four of the last five meetings with Bradley including their 3-2 win earlier this season. The Sycamores won at Bradley in 2009 (3-2) but lost in 2010 (2-3).

SERIES AGAINST NORTHERN IOWA - This is the 52nd meeting between Indiana State and Northern Iowa in a series which dates back to 1982. The Panthers hold a 49-2 edge in the series including a 24-0 edge in games played in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Indiana State has lost 28 straight to Northern Iowa since they posted a 3-2 win in Terre Haute, Ind., during the 1997 season. The Panthers swept ISU 3-0 in their first meeting this season and won both matchups in 2010, winning 3-0 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, a year ago.

FOLLOWING THE SYCAMORES: Live stats for this weekend's games can be found at www.gosycamores.com or at:

Live stats for the Indiana State at Bradley game can be found at:

http://stats.statbroadcast.com/chat/?id=1844

Live stats for the Indiana State at Northern Iowa game can be found at:

http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=1893