TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Indiana State rebounded from their first loss of the season by posting their third sweep of the 2011 Quality Inn/ASICS Classic, defeating the Coppin State Eagles 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-17) in the final game of the tournament.
The Sycamores (3-1) finished second in the tournament behind Miami (Ohio) who finished 4-0 in tournament action including a 3-2 victory over ISU earlier Saturday. Senior middle blocker Stacy Qualizza and senior setter Shelbi Fouty were named to the All-Tournament team.
Junior Morgan Dall led the Sycamore offense against Coppin State with 14 kills while Qualizza added 13. Fouty had 30 assists with senior Kiya James posting 15 digs.
There were three lead changes and four ties early in the opening set of the game with the Sycamores taking advantage of two Eagle errors along with a Dall kill to break the final tie and take the lead for good at 8-5. The Sycamores stayed in front the rest of the way and led by as many as five but could never put Coppin State away as ISU held on for a 25-21 win.
Indiana State led 3-0 early in the second set before Coppin State rallied to knot the score at four. The Sycamores regained their composure and scored the next five points to lead 9-4. ISU never trailed the rest of the set although the Eagles did fight back to within two before a 6-0 Sycamore run sealed the deal and pushed ISU up 15-7. The Sycamores maintained a seven to eight point lead and posted a 25-17 win.
The Eagles scored the first point of the third set but that advantage was short lived as ISU scored three straight and stayed in front the rest of the way. ISU pulled out to a nine-point lead and maintained that advantage the rest of the way to post a 25-17 win and earn the victory three sets to none.
Qualizza finished the tournament second in hitting percentage as she knocked down 36 kills in 72 attempts with just six errors for a .403 average. Fouty led all tournament setters with 134 in 14 sets for a 9.57 assists per set average.
Other notable performers for Indiana State in the tournament rankings were Dall who led in kills with 60 in 14 sets (4.29 per set) and points with 71.0 (5.07 per set), junior Shea Doran led in blocks with 13 (0.93 blocks per set average), and James was second in digs with 64 (4.57 per set).
Three players from Miami (Ohio) were named to the All-Tournament team including MVP Madison Hardy, a sophomore setter. Also named from the RedHawks were senior outside hitter Jenn Caylor and senior middle hitter Cassie Farrell. The All-Tournament team also included freshman libero Gabrielle Otero from Coppin State, sophomore libero Mysta Townsell of Chicago State, and freshman outside hitter Katie Kirby of Eastern Illinois.
Indiana State will be back in action next weekend as they host the Drury Inn/ASCIS Volleyball Challenge. The Sycamores will be joined by Savannah State, SIU Edwardsville, and Western Illinois in the two-day tournament which will be played Saturday and Sunday in the ISU Arena.
