WICHITA, Kan. – The preseason Missouri Valley Conference favorites wasted little time Saturday evening as it swept Indiana State (19-25, 16-25, 20-25) in front of 3,248 fans at Koch Arena.
Indiana State dropped to 8-5 overall on the season and 0-2 in MVC action as it was swept for the first time in 2014.
“Obviously, tonight did not go as we had planned and worked on,” ISU head coach Traci Dahl-Skinner said. “The past two matches have given us a lot to work on as we continue moving forward in conference play.”
Junior middle blocker Cassandra Willis led ISU with a .286 hitting percentage and five blocks on the evening. Sophomore outside hitters Bree Spangler posted 11 kills and Melody Burdette added four.
Freshman setter Rachel Griffin earned her first career start, recording 26 assists. Griffin combined with freshman libero Stephanie Bindernagel with seven digs each. As a team, ISU posted its lowest hitting percentage of the season with a .100 clip in the three set match.
In set one, the Shockers used a pair of hitting errors by the Sycamores to take an early 9-4 lead. WSU used another run, to take a 15-9 lead halfway through the set on kills by Ashly Driskill, Abbie Lehman and Kristin Byers. The Shockers continued to dominate the set as ISU trailed 13-20 before going on a run of its own.
Three attack errors and kills from Thomas couldn't help ISU climb out of a hole as it fell 19-25 in set one. The Sycamores hit just .188 in the opening frame and committed three service aces.
Set two went all the Shockers way, as it hit .448 compared to the Sycamores' .138 hitting percentage. Early kills by Nalls and Spangler kept the set in reach but a service ace from Katie Reilly forced Coach Dahl-Skinner to call a timeout to regroup her team.
The Shockers, however, used short runs to capitalize on Indiana State. An 8-3 run broke set two open Wichita State posted a 25-16 victory.
It was all Shockers in set three, as they held ISU to a .000 hitting percentage in the final set. Facing match point, the ISU didn't make it easy for the Shockers to close out it out.
Trailing 15-24, back-to-back kills by Burdette along with errors forced a Wichita State timeout. But attacking errors plagued the Sycamores yet again as it sealed the match for WSU.
ISU returns home for the first time in almost a month when it hosts Evansville on Friday and Southern Illinois on Saturday. Tip off for both matches is set for 8 p.m. ET.
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.
