EDWARDSVILLE, Ill., – The Indiana State volleyball team continued its winning ways on Friday afternoon as it upended previously undefeated Southern Utah, 3-1, at the SIUE Cougar Classic at the Vadalabene Center. With the win, ISU improves to 7-2 on the season while SUU falls to 6-1.
Spangler recorded her eighth double-double of the season, on 15 kills and a team-high 17 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Melody Burdette added nine kills while freshman libero Stephanie Bindernagel added 13 digs.
As a team, Indiana State hit .223 overall including a .300 clip in set three. They recorded 66 team digs and posted 11 blocks. Senior middle blocker Kyla Thomas led the Sycamores with a season-high six stuffs on the afternoon.
Sophomore defensive specialist Shannon Murphy chipped in 10 digs while junior setter Erika Nord turned in 41 assists and a match-high three service aces. Junior outside hitter Victoria Swigart brought down six kills with a .667 hitting percentage in the match.
ISU fell behind early in set one, 4-8, as Coach Dahl-Skinner used a timeout. ISU responded with back-to-back kills from Spangler and Burdette.
Block by Spangler and Thomas pulled ISU within one and Spangler made it a tie game, 8-8, with a kill. Nord broke a 12-12 tie with a kill, helping ISU keep a lead they would never relinquish.
They capped it off with three straight points on a kill by Spangler, ace from Nord and attack error by SUU to win set one, 25-20.
Set two was in reach for ISU early on, as they capitalized on a Thunderbird service error to take a 13-12 lead. The Sycamores would keep it close on a kill by Thomas to make it 20-20 but SUU finished off set two with five unanswered points.
SUU continued its streak in set three, taking a 7-1 lead before ISU found its offense. ISU rattled off five straight points to rally from a 14-20 deficit and tie the set at 21-21 on a Southern Utah attack error.
Back-to-back kills from Spangler edged her team closer to set point, 23-21. But the Thunderbirds weren't done, tying things up at 25-25 on a kill from Remo Gaogao. The Sycamores would complete the comeback with a block by Thomas and Swigart and kill by Swigart to win 27-25.
A lot went right for ISU in set four, cruising to a 20-9 lead before the Thunderbirds cut the Sycamore lead to 23-17 off an error by Burdette. But Swigart would again end the match with back-to-back kills.
ISU continues play in the Cougar Classic on Saturday with a 5 p.m. ET matchup with Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
For the latest information on the Sycamore Volleyball team, make sure to check outGoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
