SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Indiana State Volleyball fought in its sixth five setter in seven matches with Missouri State but couldn't hang on as it fell 2-3 (25-21, 17-25, 12-25, 25-15, 6-15) on Saturday evening inside Hammons Student Center.
Juniors Bree Spangler and Kynedi Nalls led the Sycamores with 13 kills each while sophomore defensive specialist Stephanie Bindernagel racked up 16 digs. Redshirt senior Carly Wishlow and Nalls led on the block with four each.
The Sycamores claimed set one for the second straight night, taking a 25-21 victory. But it seemed to all favor the Bears in the second, after it called a timeout trailing 3-8 it rattled off a 6-1 run and took its first lead of the evening. The home team didn't look back as it tied the match up 1-1 going into the break.
The Bears took advantage of a negative hitting performance by the Sycamores in the third as it strolled to a 25-12 victory coming out of the intermission. The tides turned in ISU's favor in set four as it hit a match high .324 on its way to a 25-15 set four victory to knot the match up at 2-2.
Missouri State, however, continued its dominance in the series with the convincing 15-6 decisive set five win as Indiana State posted another negative hitting percentage in the frame.
GAME CHANGER
Indiana State had a hard time finding its offensive rhythm, posting another sub .200 performance (.129) on Saturday evening. It's just its third team hitting percentage under the .200 mark on the season (vs. Marshall, at Wichita State). The Bears' serve also wreaked havoc with ISU committing nine reception errors, its second-highest of the season.
SYCAMORE LEADERS
Kills – Bree Spangler/Kynedi Nalls (13)
Digs – Stephanie Bindernagel (16)
Assists – Erika Nord (19)
Hitting Percentage – Kynedi Nalls (.321, 13-4-28)
Aces – Carly Wishlow/Shannon Murphy (1)
Blocks – Kynedi Nalls/Carly Wishlow (4)
RECORDS
Indiana State: 11-6, 0-2 MVC
Missouri State: 11-5, 2-0 MVC
IMPORTANT NUMBERS
2 – Two negative hitting percentages in sets three and five sealed the Sycamores' fate, marking its 44th straight victory in the series which dates back to 1994
4 – Four players recorded double-digit digs with sophomore libero Stephanie Bindernagel's 16 and 10 a piece from Spangler, Nord and junior defensive specialist Shannon Murphy
5 – Indiana State is now 3-2 this season in five set matches with losses to IUPUI and Missouri State
6 – The five set thriller marks the sixth time in seven matches the Bears and Sycamores have competed in five sets
6 – Senior setter Erika Nord recorded her 6th season double-double with 19 assists and 10 digs
24 – Spangler recorded her 24th career double-double in the loss, posting 13 kills and 10 digs. It was also her seventh double-double of the season
UP NEXT
Indiana State returns to ISU Arena to open up October when it hosts Northern Iowa (Oct. 2) and Drake (Oct. 3). Both matches will begin at 7 p.m. ET and are 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.
