TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State volleyball will play its first home matches of the season Friday as the team welcomes Cal State-Fullerton and Eastern Illinois to the ISU Arena for the Sycamore Invitational. The Sycamores will take on the Titans Friday night at 6 p.m. before playing Eastern Illinois at 7 p.m. Saturday. Both EIU and Cal-State Fullerton will play a neutral site affair at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Admission is free to all Sycamore Volleyball matches. Fans can also watch the action on The Valley On ESPN3.
OPENING SERVE
The Sycamores are coming off a winless weekend at the Chippewa Invitational, falling to Central Michigan, IUPUI and Cleveland State. The Trees nearly walked away with a pair of wins, but fell in five sets to both the Jaguars and Chippewas after holding a 2-1 lead in both matches.
Senior
Stephanie Bindernagel was tabbed to the Chippewa Invitational All-Tournament team after leading ISU in digs with 73 in three matches (5.62 d/s). Going into the weekend, Bindernagel had recorded just 107 digs in seven matches (25 sets).
Junior
Laura Gross continues to be the steady hand for the Sycamores through 10 matches. The outside hitter recorded 47 kills (3.62 k/s) and 44 digs (3.38 d/s) over the weekend at the Chippewa Invitational in three matches. On the year, Gross is averaging a team-best 3.42 kills per set and has accounted for six of the teams' double-doubles. Gross earned All-Tournament accolades at the Indiana Invitational after finishing with 31 kills and 38 digs. Against DePaul, Gross went for her first double-double of the season on an 18 kill and 19 dig performance.
Cassie Kawa has been very efficient for the Sycamores early on this season, leading the squad in hitting percentage at .377 with 92 kills on 175 attacks. The sophomore sits second on the squad with 2.71 kills per set. She ranks first in the MVC and 68th nationally in hitting percentage.
Damadj Johnson set a new career high over the weekend with 12 blocks against Central Michigan. The sophomore middle blocker picked up her first double-double of the season in the match after going for 10 kills for the third time this season.
Setter
Rachel Griffin tallied a new career best against IUPUI over the weekend when she went for 58 assists. She has recorded 40+ assists in five matches this season and has totaled 1,784 career assists in 77 matches.
Seven Hills, Ohio native
Sarah Peterson earned Hawkeye Classic All-Tournament Team honors for her performance this past weekend. The outside hitter had 39 kills on a .197 attacking percentage in four matches. Peterson posted her first double-double of the season against Omaha Friday night with 10 kills and 15 digs and three-straight 10-kill matches to close out the weekend.
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 FIELD
Regional foe Eastern Illinois will take the court against the Sycamores on Saturday. The Panthers hold a 28-16 all-time series lead over the Sycamores, in a series that dates all the way back to 1977. Though EIU has a strong advantage in the series, ISU has taken five of the last six matches played, including two-straight. The Sycamores are 8-14 against the Panthers in Terre Haute.
It will mark the first meeting between Indiana State and Cal State - Fullerton.
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
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