BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — It didn't take long for first year head coach Lindsay Allman to pick up her first career win Friday night in Bloomington as the Sycamore volleyball team recorded a 3-0 sweep of DePaul to open the 2017 season, 29-27, 25-20, 25-22.
 
Junior Laura Gross led the charge for ISU on the offensive end, notching a double-double in her first action in a Sycamore uniform with 19 kills and 18 digs. Rachel Griffin assisted on 42 of the team's kills while Cassie Kawa added 11 kills for the Trees on 19 attempts and sophomore Damadj Johnson went for seven.
 
The Sycamores (1-0) rallied late to tie the match at 23 in the opening frame before trading points with the Blue Demons all the way until the end. Down 27-26, Kawa recorded a kill to tie it before Griffin gave the Trees a 28-27 lead on a kill, one of only three on the night for the senior. That was when the defense stepped up and cemented the rally for ISU as Sarah Peterson and Kawa recorded the block to put the set away, 29-27.
 
In similar fashion, both ISU and DePaul played a close second set until the midway point when Indiana State picked up a kill from Kawa followed by a pair of errors by the Blue Demons to seize momentum. DePaul would make a push and reel off five-straight points to take an 18-16 lead before freshman Nikkie White and the Sycamores would score four-straight and not look back as they cruised to a 25-20 win.
 
ISU would find itself in an early 5-3 hole in the third set as well, before going on a 6-0 run to take a 9-5 lead with kills from Johnson, Peterson and White during the stretch. It seemed as though the Sycamores would cruise to a win, but DePaul had other plans as they slowly chewed away at the lead to eventually tie it at 20 apiece. That was when ISU turned it on offensively with kills from Kawa, White and Gross to take the set 25-22 and secure the win.
 
As a team, Indiana State hit .351 on the night with 51 kills, a much-improved number from their intrasquad scrimmages a week ago. The Sycamore defense held DePaul to a .203 attacking percent while going for six blocks.
 
DePaul was led by Claire Anderson who finished with 14 kills while Brittany Maxwell notched 10. With the win, ISU evens the all-time series with the Blue Demons, 3-3.
 
Indiana State will return to action Saturday morning with a 10 a.m. start against Ball State before taking on host Indiana in the nightcap at 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network Plus.
 
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.