TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Indiana State volleyball team looks to get back on the winning path as it travels to Loyola and Bradley on Friday and Saturday for Missouri Valley Conference action. Friday's match versus the Ramblers tips off at 8 p.m. ET while Saturday's contest in Peoria begins at 6 p.m. ET. Live video and live stats are available for both matches.

Indiana State Sycamores

Head Coach: Traci Dahl-Skinner

Career Record: 67-132 (7th Season)

Record at ISU: Same

2014 Record: 10-6

2014 MVC Record: 2-3

2014 Stat Leaders

Kills - 212, Bree Spangler

Hitting Percentage - .389, Cassandra Willis

Digs - 206, Stephanie Bindernagel

Assists - 612, Erika Nord

Points - 228.0, Bree Spangler

Blocks - 44, Cassandra Willis

Aces - 24, Stephanie Bindernagel

Series Histories

vs. Loyola: Indiana State trails, 2-8

vs. Bradley:  Indiana State trails, 24-37

Scouting the Ramblers

Head Coach: Chris Muscat

Career Record: 40-61 (4th Season)

At Loyola: Same

2014 Record: 6-9

MVC Record: 2-4

Last Time Out: W, 3-1 at SIU

L, 3-1 at Evansville

Loyola is coming into the weekend after splitting a pair of matches with Southern Illinois and Evansville on the road. Against the Salukis, the Ramblers used 18 kills from Morgan Reardon for the 3-1 victory in Carbondale. Turning around the next night in Evansville, Loyola faltered in a 3-1 loss to the Purple Aces. They are led by MVC kills leader Morgan Reardon who has posted a team-high 243 (4.19 per set) and 128 digs (2.21 per set) and league-high 4.77 points per set. Caroline Holt spearheads the offense at setter as she has dished out 632 assists this season (11.09 per set, leading the MVC). As a team the Ramblers hit just .179 per match, second to last in the MVC, and average 12.07 set, 1.17 service aces and 14.55 digs per set.

Scouting the Braves

Head Coach: Jenny Maurer

Career Record: 74-138

At Bradley: 34-67 (5th Season)

2014 Record: 0-16

MVC Record: 0-6

Last Time Out: L, 3-0 at Evansville

L, 3-0 at SIU

Still looking for its first win of the season, the Bradley Braves enter the second half of league play looking to end a four-game skid of opponent sweeps. The Braves are ranked at the bottom of nearly every league statistical category as they have let opponents have hit an average of .229 against them this season. Taylor Theile leads with 157 kills (2.62 per set) while Afton Sobasky as held main setting responsibilities for BU with 445 assists this season (7.42 per set). Four different players are in triple-digit digs including libero Lea Sack (228, 3.80 per set).

News and Notes

·         Indiana State looks to rebound from last weekend's loss to Illinois State at home. The Redbirds swept the match, 3-0 (24-26, 25-27, 19-25) as Indiana State threatened the league-leader in all three sets.

·         Sophomore outside hitter Bree Spangler and middle blocker Kynedi Nalls combined for 10 kills each on Friday against the Redbirds as ISU was barely edged on the night in hitting percentage (.257 to .297). Three Sycamores each notched seven digs on the evening while freshman defensive specialist Stephanie Bindernagel notched two service aces.

·         Junior setter Erika Nord dished out 39 assists in Friday's match, while also adding three kills and six digs for the Sycamores.

·         Junior middle blocker Cassandra Willis ranks 38th in the nation in hitting percentage (.389) and is second the Missouri Valley Conference in the same category after five games of league play.

·         Willis has turned up her play in conference action this season, recording a .308 hitting percentage over the last five matches. She has posted 48 kills (2.40 per set) on 107 attempts with just 15 errors.

·         As a team, the Sycamores are ranked in the top of a variety of MVC stats as they lead in hitting percentage (.229) and service aces (96, 1.55 per set), second in assists (762, 12.29 per set) and kills (816, 13.16 per set), third in opponent hitting percentage (.196) and sixth in digs (14.61 per set).

·         Individually, Willis (.389) and senior middle blocker Kyla Thomas (.371) rank second and third, respectively, in hitting percentage. Junior setter Erika Nord is third in assists (10.55 per set) while freshman libero Stephanie Bindernagel leads in service aces (24, 0.39 per set) and 10th in digs (3.68 per set). Sophomore outside hitter Bree Spangler ranks fifth (3.42 per set) in kills and seventh in total points (3.68 per set). Sophomore defensive specialist Shannon Murphy is also fifth in service aces (20, 0.32 per set).

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.