PEORIA, Ill. – Indiana State Volleyball combined for a monster night on the block as it picked up its first Missouri Valley Conference sweep of the season over Bradley (25-22, 25-22, 25-14) on Friday night inside Renaissance Coliseum.
The Sycamores were led by sophomore outside hitter Sarah Peterson's new career-high 13 kills on a .303 clip and another 10 kills from junior right side Kynedi Nalls. ISU was lethal again on the block with a combined 13.0 kills for its 10th performance of the season in double digits.
Sophomore libero Stephanie Bindernagel tallied her fourth 20-plus effort of the season in the back row to lead with 21 digs. Senior setter Erika Nord also notched her ninth season double-double with 34 assists and 13 digs.
A 6-0 run midway through the opening helped separate the Sycamores from the host Braves, 17-10. But a Braves 4-0 run closed the gap and kept the match close, but a Bradley handle error and a Wishlow kill helped seal the ISU win, 25-22.
The Sycamores couldn't find their rhythm early on in the second and trailed by as many as five. ISU rallied its way back with back-to-back slams from Burdette and Willis helped regain a two point lead (21-19) but things would get knotted up again at 22-22. Burdette and Peterson helped the cause with kills and a BU error helped seal set win (25-22) the 2-0 lead going into the break.
A solid effort in the third set closed out the win as ISU hit .480 with seven of Peterson's 13 kills coming in the set. Indiana State avoided a four set match for the first time since September 19 as Peterson fittingly ended the match with back-to-back kills.
COACH'S CORNER
“I was proud of the way this team battled through a bit of adversity in spots and was able to come out with a win,” ISU head coach Traci Dahl-Skinner said. “Our blocking was really good tonight and it was nice to see some of our bench players step up.”
GAME CHANGER
Indiana State made another strong presence on the block with 13.0 total team blocks with redshirt senior Carly Wishlow touching 10.0 of those blocks (all assisted). Her 10.0 assisted blocks are the second most in a match in program history.
SYCAMORE LEADERS
Kills – Sarah Peterson (13)
Digs – Stephanie Bindernagel (21)
Assists – Erika Nord (34)
Hitting Percentage – Erika Nord (3-0-6, .500)
Aces – N/A
Blocks – Carly Wishlow (10, 0-10)
RECORDS
Indiana State: 13-7, 2-3 MVC
Bradley: 5-12, 0-5 MVC
IMPORTANT NUMBERS
1 – First career start for freshman defensive specialist Dominique Davis in Friday's sweep
1 – First conference sweep this season and first 3-0 win for ISU since Sept. 19 (vs. Chicago State)
9 – Nine season double-doubles for senior setter Erika Nord with 34 assists and 13 digs
10 – 10th match this season with 10.0 blocks or more finishing with a combined 13.0 overall
10 – Redshirt senior Carly Wishlow tallied 10.0 block assists in the win, the second most in a single game in program history
13 – New career high for sophomore outside hitter Sarah Peterson who tallied 13 kills on a .303 hitting percentage (13-3-33)
UP NEXT
Indiana State continues on to visit Loyola (who defeated Illinois State, 3-0 on Friday) tomorrow in Chicago. First serve is slated for 5 p.m. ET inside Gentile Arena and will be live on The Valley on ESPN3.
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.
