Indiana State finished sixth in the Valley regular season standings and will play the third seeded Wichita State Shockers (19-9, 13-5) at 6 p.m. (ET) Thursday in the quarterfinals. The winner advances to play second seeded Missouri State (22-7, 15-3) at 6 p.m. on Friday.

Northern Iowa (30-1, 18-0) completed their third straight undefeated season in Valley play to again be the top seed in the tournament which they will host on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Creighton (17-13, 12-6) has the fourth seed and will play fifth seeded Illinois State (17-13, 9-9) at 8:30 p.m. (ET) Thursday in the second quarterfinal. The winner plays 12th ranked UNI at 8:30 p.m. Friday in the second semifinal.

The Valley championship game will be played at 7:37 p.m. (ET) Saturday and will be aired live on Fox Sports Midwest.

For three seniors, reaching the Valley tournament is the culmination of four years of hard work to revive a program that had struggled in the conference. Shelbi Fouty, Kiya James and Stacy Qualizza were the first recruits for head coach Traci Dahl when she took over the program and the trio has succeeded in returning the Sycamores to respectability in the conference.

Indiana State earned their first trip to the conference tournament by winning their first back-to-back Valley road games since the 2003 season with a 3-0 win at Evansville and a 3-1 win at Southern Illinois. Those two were among four straight Valley victories, another feat not accomplished since 2003, that was sandwiched around a 3-1 home win over Drake and a 3-0 sweep at home over Illinois State. The Sycamores also won two more home Valley games as they defeated Bradley 3-2 and Evansville 3-1 with the four wins at home the most since ISU won five Valley home games in 2004.

This will be the eighth appearance in the conference post-season tournament for Indiana State and the first time that ISU has met the Shockers in post-season action. The Sycamores last appearance was in the 2004 tournament when ISU lost to Missouri State (then Southwest Missouri State) in four sets 14-30, 17-30, 30-28, 23-30. The Sycamores are 1-7 in Valley tournament action.

Senior Weekend

Three Indiana State players competed on the home court for the final time last weekend and all three were members of head coach Traci Dahl's first recruiting class as the Sycamore coach. Shelbi Fouty, Kiya James and Stacy Qualizza were honored during pre-game ceremonies Saturday.

Fouty is a 5-foot-11 setter from Plainfield, Ind., who ranks seventh in career assists (1,822), 10th in career assists per set (4.61), seventh in career digs (967), and 15th in career digs per set (2.45). She has established several career game highs during her senior campaign including five kills at Southern Illinois, four aces against Chicago State, three blocks at Evansville, and seven points at Southern Illinois. Fouty also tied her career game high in digs with 21 at Bradley this season. The setter has a season high of 49 assists which she recorded at home against Drake and has a career game high of 62 assists recorded last season at Drake.

James is a 5-foot-3 libero from Indianapolis, Ind., who ranks third in career digs (1,679), second in career digs per set (3.87) and tied for 21st in career service aces (66). She set a career high of 32 digs in a game against Evansville last season and has had 27 digs in a game three times this season. She has had four service aces in a game twice during her Indiana State career with a season high of three against New Hampshire.

Qualizza is a 6-foot-1 middle blocker from Crown Point, Ind., currently ranks ninth in career kills (912), 19th in career kills per set (2.32), 15th in career attempts (2,107), third in career attack percentage (.293), 13th in career solo blocks (37), ninth in career block assists (175), 11th in career total blocks (212), 13th in career points (1,038.5), and tied for 22nd in career points per set (2.64). The senior set a career game high of .742 hitting percentage at Evansville which is the second best single game hitting percentage in school history. She also had a career game high of seven blocks against Fairfield this season. The middle blocker had a career high 26 kills and 28 points against Evansville last season.

Three Sycamores Named To Valley Scholar-Athlete Team

Three Indiana State players have been named to the 2011 Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Scholar-Athlete team including senior Shelbi Fouty who was named for the second straight year on the first team. She was an honorable mention selection in 2009. Fouty has a 3.98 grade point average (GPA) while majoring in speech pathology at Indiana State. Fouty was also the only unanimous selection for the 2011 team.

Two other Sycamores were named to the honorable mention list for the first time including junior Morgan Dall and sophomore Monique Morris. Dall has a 3.55 GPA while majoring in Athletic Training at Indiana State and was a first team selection in 2010. Morris has a 3.83 GPA and is still undecided on a major.

Fouty Named To Capital One District V All-Academic Team

Indiana State senior Shelbi Fouty was named to the Capital One All-Academic Second Team for District V for volleyball becoming the first member of the Indiana State volleyball program to receive the honor which is voted on the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Fouty is a setter for the Sycamores from Plainfield, Ind., and has a 3.98 grade point average while majoring in Speech Pathology. The Sycamore has 1,788 career assists which ranks seventh on the ISU all-time list. She has an average of 4.56 assists per set for her career (11th best all-time) while also recording 54 kills, 56 service aces, 952 digs (seventh best all-time), and 42 blocks. Fouty was a first team All-MVC Scholar Athlete in 2010 after being an honorable mention selection in 2009.

James Named MVC Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 14)

Indiana State senior Kiya James has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season on Nov. 14. James is the first Libero and the sixth Sycamore to receive the honor since the awards were initiated in 1983 and the first to receive the award multiple times.

James continues to solidify the Sycamore defense, recording 36 digs last week (6.0 per set) which gives her 460 digs this season (sixth on the ISU all-time list) and 1,664 career digs (third on the ISU all-time list). James had 21 digs in a three-set loss to IUPUI Tuesday and came back with 15 digs in a three-set win over Illinois State Saturday.

The senior was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 12 after leading ISU to the championship of the New Hampshire Tournament. Middle blocker Stacy Qualizza was named Player of the Week on Nov. 8, 2010 while setter Kerri Huffman was honored during the third week of the 1992 season, middle blocker Julie Meshberger received the honor in the first week of the 1995 season, outside hitter Karis Keeran in the ninth week of the 1997 season, and setter Megan Mirs in the sixth week of the 1999 season.

Qualizza In The Record Book

Senior middle blocker Stacy Qualizza moved into the top 10 of career kills last weekend and now has 912 career kills which is the ninth best in school history. She moved past Megan Lynch (893 kills from 1997-2000) and Mary Kay Bahnaman (901 kills from 1985-1989) with 11 kills last week. The senior is currently third all-time in career hitting percentage (.293) and 11th in total blocks (212).

Qualizza is enroute to setting the school record for single season hitting percentage as she takes a .375 hitting percentage into the tournament. Julie Meshberger currently holds the school record with a .355 hitting percentage in the 1995 season. The Sycamore senior had a .289 hitting percentage in 2010 which is the seventh best single season performance in school history.

She also had the second best single game hitting percentage in school history after hitting .742 at Evansville on Nov. 4. Qualizza holds five of the top 10 single game hitting percentage marks and seven of the top 15.

Sycamores Post Most Wins Since 2003

Indiana State's 2011 volleyball team recorded their 14th win of the season this past weekend which is the most victories for a Sycamore team since the 2003 campaign. ISU won 11 games in 2010 and 12 in 2004 with the current squad now tied with the 2003, 2001, 2000 and 1987 teams in winning 14 games. The 1993 squad won 15 games with ISU winning 16 in 1996, 17 in 1989, 25 in 1981, and 34 in 1982.

The Sycamores currently have six Valley wins which is the most for an ISU team since the 2004 campaign when Indiana State won eight Valley contests.

SCOUTING INDIANA STATE

The Sycamores (14-16, 6-12) dropped a pair of hard fought contests at home last weekend as the second place Missouri State Bears won 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 28-26) Friday and the third place Wichita State Shockers won 3-0 (28-26, 25-18, 25-13) Saturday.

Junior outside hitter Morgan Dall averages 4.56 kills per set (kps) and 4.17 kps in the Valley. Senior middle blocker Stacy Qualizza is averaging 2.66 kps  (2.76 kps in the Valley) while sophomore outside hitter Monique Morris is averaging 2.61 kps (2.92 kps in the Valley), sophomore Molly Murphy 1.65 kps (2.21 kps in the Valley), and junior outside hitter Shea Doran 1.85 kps (1.77 kps in the Valley).

The Sycamore attack begins with a pair of setters including senior Shelbi Fouty at 8.19 assists per set (aps) for the season and 7.82 aps in the Valley while sophomore Loni Mackinson averages 2.99 aps overall and 3.33 aps in the Valley.

Senior libero Kiya James keys the defense with 4.75 digs per set (dps) overall and 4.48 dps in the Valley. Morris is second at 3.02 dps (3.21 dps in the Valley) with Fouty at 3.06 dps (3.36 dps in the Valley) and Mackinson 2.41 dps (2.95 dps in the Valley).

Qualizza has 65 blocks this season (0.63 per set) and 39 in Valley play (0.62 per set) while freshman Samantha Kersting has 49 blocks this season (0.60 per set) and 37 in Valley play (0.59 per set).

SCOUTING WICHITA STATE

The Shockers (19-9, 13-5 MVC) have won five straight including a pair of Valley games this past weekend as they defeated Illinois State 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20) Friday and Indiana State 3-0 (28-26, 25-18, 25-13) Saturday.

Junior outside hitter Emily Adney leads the Wichita State offense with 3.40 kps (3.75 Valley) while senior outside hitter Camri Zwiesler averages 3.07 kps (3.03 Valley), and sophomore middle blocker Elizabeth Field 2.19 kps (2.46 Valley). Senior setter Mary Elizabeth Hooper averages 10.40 aps (11.25 Valley) while senior libero Sarah Waldorf averages 5.00 dps (5.08 Valley). Sophomore middle blocker Ashley Andrade has 101 blocks this season (1.01 per set) with 76 coming in Valley action (1.25 per set).

SERIES AGAINST WICHITA STATE - This is the 50th meeting between Indiana State and Wichita State in a series which dates back to 1983. The Shockers hold a 37-12 edge in the series. The Sycamores have lost 19 straight with the last ISU win coming in 2002 when Indiana State won 3-1 on the home court.

First Time Around -

The 2011 Missouri Valley Conference season did not start well for the Indiana State Sycamores as they dropped a 0-3 (14-25, 19-25, 15-25) decision to the host Wichita State Shockers in the MVC opener for both teams on Sept. 16.  Junior Morgan Dall led the Sycamore offense with 13 kills but she was the only Indiana State hitter in double figures. Sophomore Monique Morris had six while freshman Samantha Kersting and senior Stacy Qualizza had three each. Senior Shelbi Fouty had 16 assists and senior Kiya James 10 digs while Kersting also had two blocks.

The Indiana State Sycamores started off well but could not get a set win against visiting Wichita State as the Shockers defeated ISU 3-0 (28-26, 25-18, 25-13) in front of 216 fans in the final regular season game in the ISU Arena Saturday. Junior Morgan Dall and sophomore Monique Morris led Indiana State with 14 kills each while senior Shelbi Fouty had 31 assists and senior Kiya James 14 digs.

Last Time Out -

The Sycamore volleyball team went toe-to-toe with the Missouri State Bears in the ISU Arena Friday night but dropped a hard fought Missouri Valley Conference contest 0-3 (19-25, 19-25, 26-28) in front of 157 fans. Junior Morgan Dall led the Sycamore attack with 15 points while senior Stacy Qualizza added 10. Senior Shelbi Fouty had 34 assists and 15 digs for her 25th career double-double and her 12th this season. Senior Kiya James also had 15 digs while junior Shea Doran had five blocks to go along with seven kills and four assists.

The Indiana State Sycamores started off well but could not get a set win against visiting Wichita State as the Shockers defeated ISU 3-0 (28-26, 25-18, 25-13) in front of 216 fans in the final regular season game in the ISU Arena Saturday. Junior Morgan Dall and sophomore Monique Morris led Indiana State with 14 kills each while senior Shelbi Fouty had 31 assists and senior Kiya James 14 digs.

FOLLOWING THE SYCAMORES:

Visit www.gosycamores.com for links to live stats for both games this weekend. Click on the Live Statistics link under the Broadcasts & Media tab on the left side of the homepage for the exact link, go to the volleyball schedule page for the link, or copy and paste the link below.

Live Stats Link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=3701

Watch the game live:

http://www.valley-live.tv/