TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Another balanced offensive attack helped guide Indiana State Volleyball to a 3-1 win over Drake (27-25, 25-12, 20-25, 25-15) during Friday's Pink Night match at ISU Arena. Indiana State improves to 13-7 overall and 5-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Four different players tallied double-digit kills while the back row defense chipped in with 90 digs, including five players in double-digit digs. Indiana State hit .214 on the night and held the Bulldogs to a .099 clip.
Sophomore outside hitter Bree Spangler and junior setter Erika Nord both turned in double-double performances. Spangler, the reigning MVC Scholar Athlete of the Week, posted 15 kills to go along with a team-high 22 digs and two service aces. Nord dished out 53 assists, her highest in a four set match this season, and added 11 digs. The duo has combined for all 17 double-doubles for Indiana State this season.
Junior middle blocker Cassandra Willis also added 15 kills while hitting .300 and recorded a team-high three blocks. Freshman outside hitter Sarah Peterson turned in a career-high 12 slams coming off the bench. Junior outside hitter Victoria Swigart also came in to Friday's contest to record 11 kills on a .238 clip to accompany two blocks.
Senior middle blocker Kyla Thomas added seven kills with a .333 hitting percentage to lead the ISU attack. Freshman libero Danielle Waedekin chipped in 18 digs while freshman defensive specialist Stephanie Bindernagle added 15. Sophomore defensive specialist Shannon Murphy also contributed 12.
In set one, ISU needed extra points to get past the Bulldogs, 27-25. Neither team hit particularly well in the set, with the Sycamores narrowly edging Drake, .157-.061.
Nine ties highlighted the first set as Nord tied it up 21-21 on a dump. After exchanging kills, a Drake service ace put them at set point. But ISU got a break on a hitting error before Willis turned around with the kill, giving her team a one point lead.
Following a Sycamore hitting error, Peterson laid down back-to-back kills to seal the victory.
In set two, Indiana State kept the momentum taking a 15-6 lead after Nord found Thomas in the middle for the kill. ISU was impressive in the set, posting a .368 hitting percentage and 100% side out percentage. Spangler and Thomas combined for nine of the Sycamores 19 kills in the frame as it also held the Bulldogs to a .054 hitting percentage.
After the break, Drake came out blazing, posting a .227 hitting effort as it took the set 25-20 to avoid the sweep. ISU hit just .071 in set three and posted 12 hitting errors.
But able to push past, Willis posted five kills as Indiana State blew past Drake, 25-15 in set four. The Bulldogs came within one on a Katie Allen kill to make it 12-11 in favor of ISU. However, an 8-2 run helped separate the Sycamores as it rolled to a ten point victory.
Indiana State returns to the court tomorrow when it hosts Northern Iowa. Match time is set for 7 p.m. 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.
