TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Indiana State Volleyball will close out the 2014 regular season at home on Friday and Saturday as it hosts Wichita State and Missouri State. The Sycamores will honor senior middle blocker Kyla Thomas in a pregame ceremony on Saturday versus the Bears.
Indiana State Sycamores
Head Coach: Traci Dahl-Skinner
Career Record: 74-137 (7th Season)
Record at ISU: Same
2014 Record: 17-11
2014 MVC Record: 9-7
2014 Stat Leaders
Kills - 364, Bree Spangler
Hitting Percentage - .359, Cassandra Willis
Digs -342, Stephanie Bindernagel
Assists - 1070, Erika Nord
Points - 399.0, Bree Spangler
Blocks - 67, Cassandra Willis
Aces - 33, Stephanie Bindernagel/Shannon Murphy
Missouri State Bears
Head Coach: Melissa Stokes
At Missouri State: 412-200
Career Record: Same
2014 Record: 18-10
2014 MVC Record: 9-4
Last Time Out: L, 2-3 vs. Southern Illinois, W, 3-0 vs. Evansville
Wichita State Shockers
Head Coach: Chris Lamb
At Wichita State: 331-137
Career Record: Same
2014 Record: 18-8
2014 MVC Record: 12-4
Last Time Out: W, 3-0 vs. Evansville, W, 3-0 vs. Southern Illinois
Series Histories
vs. Missouri State: Indiana State trails 2-56
vs. Wichita State: Indiana State trails 12-44
Previously With…
The Sycamores end the season as it began with meetings against Missouri State and Wichita State. Against the Bears, the two teams went to a five set match for the third consecutive meeting. The Sycamores took the opening set in Springfield on Sept. 19, but dropped the next two before winning the fourth. Missouri State was decisive in the fifth set, winning 15-4. Sophomore outside hitter Bree Spangler posted 18 kills while Kyla Thomas added 11 and Indiana State hit .211 in the match. Continuing on to Wichita, ISU couldn't get its footing as it was swept 3-0.
Scouting the Bears
The Bears are coming off a split weekend where it dropped a 3-2 decision to Southern Illinois before sweeping Evansville 3-0 at home. They are led by freshman Lily Johnson who has tallied 424 total kills, 254 digs and a league leading 38 service aces. Setter Kinsey McCarter leads with 1183 total assists while Maddy Hogan has recorded a team-high 455 digs. Simone House leads MSU with 87 blocks while Andrea Beaty has compiled a team leading .331 hitting percentage. As a team, Missouri State hits .246, second best in the league, and holds its opponents to a .181 clip.
Scouting the Shockers
WSU comes into the weekend holding a three game win streak after beating Missouri State, Evansville and Southern Illinois all on its home court. Freshman Abbie Lehman anchors the Shocker offense with 243 kills on a .399 hitting percentage to go along with 72 blocks. Katie Rielly also posts a .323 hitting percentage with 187 kills. Libero Dani Mostrom leads with 463 digs in the back row as setter Emily Hiebert has amassed 970 assists on the season. As a team, Wichita State hits .245 per match but allows opponents to record a .216 clip.
News and Notes
The Sycamores will look to regroup after a pair of weekend loses before heading to the MVC Tournament on Nov. 27-29. ISU dropped a pair of matches to Northern Iowa (1-3) and Drake (0-3) in its final regular season road trip of the season.
ISU will honor senior middle blocker Kyla Thomas before Saturday's home finale against Missouri State. A four year player, Thomas has played in 101 matches for the Sycamores in her career totaling 551 kills and a .249 hitting percentage, which ranks eighth all-time in Indiana State history. She has also compiled 231 total blocks, including 61 solo blocks, and 126 digs. Her current .341 hitting percentage ranks fourth in a single season as she has recorded 211 total kills in 2014.
ISU is looking to close its final regular season homestand on a high note. The Sycamores have posted a 10-1 record coming into the series with Missouri State and Wichita State, which would rank best all-time behind a 12-3 finish in 1981.
ISU will take part in its first Missouri Valley Conference tournament since 2011 next week (Nov. 27-29) in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Seeding for the tournament will be dependent upon results of a variety of matches this weekend. The Sycamores can finish between 4th and 6th in the league. Illinois State will be the leagues overall No. 1 seed as the remaining seeds will be up for grabs in the final two matches of the regular season.
With the victory on Nov. 7 against Bradley, Indiana State secured the program's first winning season since 1982. The 17 current wins are the most under head coach Traci Dahl-Skinner. In addition, the Sycamores tied its best conference mark since 2003 with a 9-7 overall record.
With a league-leading 159 aces on the season, ISU is 30th in the country in that category, averaging 1.53 aces per set.
As a team, the Sycamores are ranked in the top of a variety of MVC stats as they lead in service aces (159, 1.53 per set), fourth in hitting percentage (.230) and opponent hitting percentage (.204) and fifth in assists (1290, 12.40 per set) and kills (1380, 12.40 per set).
Individually, Willis (.359) and senior middle blocker Kyla Thomas (.341) rank third and fifth respectively, in hitting percentage. Junior setter Erika Nord is fourth in assists (10.77 per set) while defensive specialists Shannon Murphy (33, 0.32 per set) and Stephanie Bindernagel (33, 0.32 per set) are tied for second service aces. Sophomore outside hitter Bree Spangler ranks fourth in kills (364, 3.50 per set) and fifth in total points (399.0, 3.84 per set).
Up Next
Indiana State will enjoy Thanksgiving at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on Nov. 27-29 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Times and seeds will be available late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
For the latest information on the Sycamore Volleyball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
