TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State volleyball wraps up a three-match road stint this Friday with in-state rival Evansville. The Sycamores and Aces are scheduled for an 8 p.m. first serve from the Carson Center. The match can be seen live on The Valley On ESPN3.
OPENING SERVE
The Sycamores (7-14, 5-4 MVC) are coming off a pair of road wins over the weekend against Valparaiso and Loyola. It took just 11 Missouri Valley Conference matches to surpass last season's conference win total. The Sycamores sit at 5-4 and fifth in The Valley standings.
Junior
Laura Gross leads the Sycamore attack with 255 kills this season. She leads the team by nearly one more kill per set with 3.27. The Potomac, Illinois product has recorded nine matches with 15+ more kills and ranks second on the team in total digs with 288. Gross ranks 3rd in The Valley and 39th in the country with 11.29 attacks per set.
Sophomore
Cassie Kawa sits second in The Valley with a .346 attacking percent through 77 sets. Kawa, a middle blocker for the Sycamores has 186 (2.42 k/s) this season which is second on the squad. The Alberta, Canada native has hit over .300 in 14 matches this season for the Sycamores, including a season best .529 against Bradley.
Sophomore
Damadj Johnson has dominated the net for the Sycamores this season with the third-best total in the MVC with 1.09 blocks per set. Johnson recorded a season best 12 blocks against Central Michigan (9/8).
Alongside Johnson is freshman
Nikkie White who is second on the squad with 0.72 blocks per set. White has recorded a block in 11-straight matches with a career high 10 blocks against Cal State-Fullerton (9/15).
The duo has combined for 129 of the teams' 233 blocks this season. Johnson has 16 multi-block matches while White has 15 on the season.
Libero
Stephanie Bindernagel leads the team on the defensive side of the ball with a team-high 380 digs in 81 sets. Bindernagel averages 4.69 digs per set to lead the team and has had 10 or more digs in all but one match this season with a season-best 38-dig performance coming against IUPUI.
Senior setter
Rachel Griffin made history in Carbondale (9/30) when she recorded her 2,000th career assist against the Salukis. Griffin is just the 11th player to reach the mark in program history and the first to do so since Erika Nord reached the milestone in 2015.
ISU earned its 19th straight AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2016 season. The streak is the longest among all schools and ties Drury University (Division II) for the longest streak in the nation.
THE OPPOSITION
The Sycamores hold a 44-28 lead in the all-time series against the Aces, including a 26-9 mark in Terre Haute. ISU has won all but one match dating back to 2010 and is currently riding a 10-match winning streak against Evansville after taking down the Aces earlier this season, 3-2.
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.
