TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State volleyball fell to Missouri Valley Conference rival Illinois State Monday night at the ISU Arena in three sets (25-23, 25-12, 25-20).
 
To start the match, it was a back-and-forth affair as neither team was able to firmly take a lead until the midway point when they Sycamores (5-14, 3-4 MVC) took a 13-9 lead after blocks from Damadj Johnson and Laura Gross to make it 13-9 in favor of Indiana State. The Sycamores would continue to apply pressure when Sarah Peterson recorded one of her two kills in the set a few points later to make it 15-11.
 
That was when the Redbirds got it going offensively with a pair of kills each from Jaelyn Keene and Lexi Wallen to pull ILS closer. ISU was able to stave off Illinois State until Kendal Meier led an Illinois State rally on serve to the tune of a 4-1 run to end the set and secure the set, 25-23.
 
Illinois State (12-9, 5-3 MVC) opened the second set blistering hot, jumping out to a 7-1 lead and never looking back en route to a 25-12 win to take complete control of the match 2-0 heading into the break. ILS hit a match high .471 in the set and was led by Ella Francis who had seven kills to lead the Redbirds.
 
The visitors were able to continue their strong attack in the final set, going for a .324 attacking percentage and holding ISU to just .167 from the floor. The Redbirds again used an early run to gain the momentum and rode it all the way to the set and match win.  
 
Inside the Box Score

• Illinois State outhit the Sycamores .339 to .198
• Indiana State totaled just 36 kills compared to the Redbirds' 52
• Junior Laura Gross recorded a team high 10 kills for the Sycamores to go along with 16 digs
• Cassie Kawa had eight kills and a pair of blocks while Nikkie Whit had seven kills
• Rachel Griffin assisted on 29 kills while Stephanie Bindernagel had 11 digs at libero
• Freshman Nikkie White recorded three blocks including a block solo in the match while Damadj Johnson added two block assists
• Johnson has recorded a block in all but one match this season

 
Next Up
The Sycamores will hit the road for the next three matches beginning with a trip to Valparaiso Friday night. First serve is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
 
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.