Ace Hunt

GoSycamores.com

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State and Loyola battled tooth and nail before the Ramblers took the fifth and deciding set in a thrilling volleyball match on Saturday evening in front of 298 fans inside the ISU Arena. Loyola won the first set, 25-21 before Indiana State won two in a row by the scores of 26-24 and 25-23. The Ramblers came back with a 25-19 win in the fourth set and then a 15-12 decision in the decider.

ISU fell to 6-7, 1-1 MVC while Loyola improved to 6-9, 1-1 MVC. 

Kynedi Nalls led the Sycamores with 17 kills while Sarah Peterson had 16. Makenzie Macek chipped in with 11 kills while Melody Burdette had 10. Rachel Griffin led the way with 50 assists while Shannon Murphy had a career-high 26 digs. Burdette had eight blocks to lead the Sycamores.

The Sycamores had 60 kills in the match while Loyola had 73 and a .215 attack percentage. Indiana State held a slight 12-11 lead in team blocks.

ISU used a .276 attack percentage in the first set as the two teams battled back and forth. Indiana State trailed 20-17 in the set until kills from Peterson and Nalls got the Sycamores within one point. They then used a Rambler attack error to draw within 22-21, but Loyola scored the final three points for the 25-21 win.

The Sycamores scored the first three points of the second set capped by a kill from Peterson. Loyola battled back to take a 17-16 lead. A Loyola service error tied the match at 17 and that kick started a 4-0 run for the 21-17 advantage and forced a Loyola timeout. After the Ramblers got within 21-20, a kill by Nalls gave the Sycamores some breathing room. With set tied at 24, two errors by Loyola gave the Sycamores a 26-24 victory and even the match at 1.

ISU raced out to a 4-1 lead in the third set and later scored six points in a row off the serve of Murphy for the 10-3 lead. A 5-0 run by Loyola got them within a point, but ISU took a 20-18 lead on a Loyola service error. Loyola led 23-22, but an attack error from the Ramblers as well as kills by Burdette and Nalls gave the Sycamores a 25-23 victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.

Loyola made a 5-0 run late in the fourth set and evened the match at 2-2 on a kill by Gabi Maciagowski for the 25-19 win for the Ramblers. Mackenzie Macek had an early kill in the fifth set to level the match at 1. Four points in a row gave Loyola a 5-3 advantage and though ISU used a late rally to draw within 13-12 on a kill by Nalls, the Ramblers scored the final two points of the set for the 15-12 win and the 3-2 victory.

The Ramblers were led by 21 kills from Morgan Reardon.

Indiana State returns to action on Tuesday, September 27 when they venture out of conference play to take on Eastern Illinois as they close out a season-long, four-match home stand. First serve is set for 7 p.m. (ET) at the ISU Arena.