TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State Volleyball took its first conference series of the season as it swept Bradley (25-6, 25-19, 25-23) on Senior Night at ISU Arena.
Junior right side Kynedi Nalls led the Sycamores again on Saturday night with nine kills on a .318 hitting clip and junior middle blocker Melody Burdette added eight. Sophomore libero Stephanie Bindernagel for the 16th straight match had double digit digs with a match-high 16.
Senior setter Erika Nord led the team in assists in her final home match of her career with 16 while redshirt senior Carly Wishlow capped hers off with an .800 hitting percentage (4-0-5).
Indiana State came out on fire in the first set, hitting .344 as a team and cruising to a 25-6 victory. The Sycamores hit their best in the second when it collected a .357 hitting percentage with Nalls, Burdette and senior middle blocker Cassandra Willis all adding three kills each en route to the 25-19 victory.
The Braves gave ISU a run for its money in the third as it led by as many as three after an Afton Sobasky service ace. But the Sycamores chipped away and climbed back using a 5-1 run to take a 21-17 lead. The Braves threatened late as it tied the match at 22-22 but a kill from Nord and a service error clinched the win for the Sycamores.
COACH'S CORNER
“We had some great senior energy coming off a nice pregame banquet for them and they came out and ran the show tonight,” ISU head coach Traci Dahl-Skinner said. “This team is really buying into the remainder of the season and getting back to where we were early on. We had some blips in the third set but we were able to finish off the match and get our seniors out with a win.”
GAME CHANGER
Indiana State held just one hitting error going into the third frame and finished the night with a .257 hitting percentage. Five different players had four kills or more while the Sycamores' back row also shined, out-digging the Braves 64-49.
SYCAMORE LEADERS
Kills – Kynedi Nalls (9)
Digs – Stephanie Bindernagel (16)
Assists – Erika Nord (16)
Hitting Percentage – Carly Wishlow (4-0-5, .800)
Aces – Nord/Murphy (1)
Blocks – Carly Wishlow (5)
RECORDS
Indiana State: 16-14, 5-10 MVC
Bradley: 6-20, 1-13 MVC
IMPORTANT NUMBERS
1 – ISU committed just one attack error through two sets in the sweep of Bradley. They ultimately finished with 10 on the night on a .257 hitting percentage
4 – Indiana State honored four seniors in a special pregame ceremony with Erika Nord, Victoria Swigart, Cassandra Willis and Carly Wishlow all playing their final home match inside ISU Arena
5 – Five different players had four kills or more to lead a balanced attack
64- Indiana State tied a new season high 64 digs in the three set win as Stephanie Bindernagel (16) and Bree Spangler (14) led the back row defense.
UP NEXT
Indiana State hits the road for its final three matches of the season beginning with a swing to Evansville and Southern Illinois on Friday and Saturday. Both matches begin at 8 p.m. ET and only Saturday's match at SIU will be streamed 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.
