TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Looking to continue its win streak, the Indiana State Volleyball team hits the road to face Southern Illinois and Evansville in a pair of weekend matches. ISU faces the Salukis on Friday at 8 p.m. ET in Davies Gym while making its way to Evansville on Saturday for a 7 p.m. ET serve in the Carson Center.
Live video and live stats are also available with links on GoSycamores.com.
Indiana State Sycamores
Head Coach: Traci Dahl-Skinner
Career Record: 71-133 (7th Season)
Record at ISU: Same
2014 Record: 14-7
2014 MVC Record: 6-3
2014 Stat Leaders
Kills - 285, Bree Spangler
Hitting Percentage - .377, Cassandra Willis
Digs - 267, Stephanie Bindernagel
Assists - 824, Erika Nord
Points - 311.0, Bree Spangler
Blocks - 64, Cassandra Willis
Aces - 31, Stephanie Bindernagel
Southern Illinois Salukis
Head Coach: Justin Ingram
At Southern Illinois: 50-34 (Third Season)
Career Record: 110-67 (Sixth Season)
2014 Record: 9-12
2014 MVC Record: 3-6
Last Time Out: L, 3-0 vs. Wichita State
L, 3-0 vs. Missouri State
Evansville Purple Aces
Head Coach: Manolo Concepion
Career Record: 16-34
At Evansville: Same
2014 Record: 7-14
2014 MVC Record: 3-6
Last Time Out: L, 3-0 vs. Wichita State
L, 3-0 vs. Missouri State
Series Histories
vs. Southern Illinois: Indiana State trails 17-44
vs. Evansville: Indiana State leads 38-28
Previously With…
Indiana State will begin its second go around with league opponents beginning this weekend at Southern Illinois and Evansville. In the previous meetings, Indiana State swept the weekend home series besting UE (3-1) and SIU (3-2). ISU marked its fourth-straight win over the Purple Aces while defeating the Salukis for the first time since 2012.
Scouting the Salukis
The Salukis are looking to end a three-game skid coming in to weekend action. They are led by junior Taylor Pippen who holds a league-leading .420 hitting percentage (199-42-374). Andrea Estrada leads the team with 222 total kills while libero Alex Riveria has posted a team-high 321 digs. As a team, SIU hits .209 and averages 12.27 kills, 11.38 assists, 13.03 digs and 2.0 blocks per set.
Scouting the Purple Aces
Also looking to bounce back from weekend losses to Wichita State and Missouri State, Evansville is led by Ashley Ring who has tallied 304 kills on a .202 hitting percentage to go along with 222 digs. Grace Carter leads setting duties with 583 assists (9.40 per set) while libero Kim Deprez has recorded 231 digs. Cathy Schrieber leads with 70 blocks and a team-high .267 hitting percentage (133-49-315). As a team, Evansville hits .188 and averages 12.09 kills, 11.24 assists, 13.46 digs and 2.55 blocks per set.
News and Notes
Sweeping conference action against Drake and Northern Iowa last weekend, the Sycamores are in the midst of a four-game conference win streak headed into weekend action. It marks the longest MVC win streak since 2002.
Indiana State also posted its first win over Northern Iowa since 1997 in 3-1 match victory on Saturday.
The wins push the Sycamores into a tie for fourth place in the league, posting a 6-3 overall record which also matches Wichita State.
The Sycamores have also posted an impressive 8-1 record on its home court this season, with its only loss coming to league-leading Illinois State on Oct. 3.
As a team, the Sycamores are ranked in the top of a variety of MVC stats as they lead in service aces (125 1.56 per set), second in assists (998, 12.48 per set) and kills (1066 13.32 per set), third in hitting percentage (.234) and opponent hitting percentage (.188) and fifth in digs (1290, 15.11 per set).
Individually, Willis (.377) and senior middle blocker Kyla Thomas (.355) rank second and third, respectively, in hitting percentage. Junior setter Erika Nord is third in assists (10.84 per set) while freshman libero Stephanie Bindernagel leads in service aces (31, 0.39 per set) and 10th in digs (3.34 per set). Sophomore outside hitter Bree Spangler ranks fourth in kills (3.56 per set) and sixth in total points (3.89 per set). Sophomore defensive specialist Shannon Murphy is also third in service aces (25, 0.35 per set).
Sophomore outside hitter Bree Spangler was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player and Scholar-Athlete of the Week following her performances against Drake and Northern Iowa. The Coldwater, Mich. native led the team in kills in all three matches, as she combined for 51 kills in 12 total sets. Spangler went 51-21-129 for a .233 hitting percentage overall which led the Sycamores to wins over Drake and Northern Iowa and wrapped up non-conference play at Saint Louis last week. She also combined for 33 digs (2.75 per set) and three service aces. Against the Billikens, the sophomore outside hitter posted 15 kills (15-6-42) for a .214 hitting percentage to go along with six digs for 15.5 points. Coming back into conference play on Friday, Spangler posted her eighth double-double of the season with 15 kills and 22 digs in a four set win over Drake. She posted a .227 hitting percentage (15-5-44) and also added two service aces. She was also the driving force behind the Sycamores' 3-1 victory over the Panthers with a team-high 21 kills on a .256 hitting percentage to go along with five digs and a service ace.
Freshman outside hitter Sarah Peterson put together an impressive weekend as she came off the bench for double-digit kill performances against Drake and Northern Iowa. The Seven Hills, Ohio native tallied 28 kills in two games, led by a career-high 16 kills in the win over the Panthers.
Indiana State continues road play on Oct. 31 when it travels to league-leader Illinois State. Match time is slated for 8 p.m. ET at Redbird 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.
