SAINT LOUIS, Mo. – Five different players posted at least seven kills each, but Indiana State Volleyball fell to non-conference Saint Louis, 3-1 (21-25, 22-25, 25-18, 11-25) on Tuesday evening at Chaifetz Pavilion. Indiana State moves to 12-7 on the season and finishes non-league action at 8-4 for its best mark since 2010.
Indiana State hit .261 on the night backed by Spangler's performance combined with eight kills (8-2-15, .400) from junior middle blocker Cassandra Willis and seven from sophomore middle blocker Kynedi Nalls.
Senior middle blocker Kyla Thomas posted a team-high .429 hitting percentage to accompany a team-high five blocks. On the evening, Indiana State tallied eight blocks, with Thomas' five block assists along with three from Nord and Willis.
Freshman libero Danielle Waedekin turned in 18 digs, one shy of her career-high, in front of a hometown crowd. Freshman defensive specialist Stephanie Bindernagel also added 15 digs and junior setter Erika Nord dished out 41 assists.
Sophomore middle blocker Melody Burdette rounded out the Sycamores' artillery on the night with seven slams.
Willis' kill combined with a SLU error gave ISU a 14-13 lead in set one.The Billikens reclaimed the lead after an Nenye Okoro kill and a Spangler attack error stretched its lead to 21-17.
Back-to-back kills from Nalls kept the Sycamores in it. However, a kill by Taylor Paulson and ISU block error put the set away for SLU.
Set two started with Spangler kills and Thomas capitalized on the over pass for a 3-0 lead early on. The Billikens went on a run, capitalizing on kills to take a 11-7 lead as ISU used its first timeout of the set.
A big block by Nord and Thomas along with a SLU hitting error tied things up at 18-18.
Tied up at 21-21 and two straight point by the Billikens edge them closer to set point but a block by Thomas fended off set point. However, a service error by Spangler sealed the set for SLU, 25-22.
Tied 7-7 in set three, ISU went on a 7-4 run to break the set open which included kills from Nalls, Burdette and Willis along with two blocks before SLU called a timeout.
Three straight Sycamore kills extended the lead 18-12 for its largest margin of the night. Burdette and Spangler finished off the set they took the lone set of the night, 25-18.
ISU posted a spectacular .400 hitting percentage in the third frame, with 17 kills and just three attack errors.
But it was all Billikens in the fourth and final set as it bested the Sycamores, 25-11. ISU hit -.091 in the set, as SLU posted a .517 clip in the frame.
Indiana State returns home to face MVC opponents Drake and Northern Iowa. The Sycamores will host their annual Pink Night on Friday night against the Bulldogs. Both matches are set for 7 p.m. starts at ISU Arena.
For the latest information on the Sycamore Women's Volleyball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
