FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Indiana State used five team blocks and a .350 hitting percentage to sweep the host Mastodons in three close sets at the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational Friday night.
 
Damadj Johnson led the Sycamores (2-0) with 10 kills and posted a .562 percentage while Rhiannon Morozoff also registered 10 kills. Makayla Knoblauch registered 37 assists and added three block assists in State's defensive effort.
 
All three sets (26-24, 26-24 and 25-23) came down to the wire with the first two sets requiring extra points to win.

SET 1 – Indiana State 26, Purdue Fort Wayne 24

• The Sycamores trailed 21-15 before going on an 11-3 run to claim the set win, capped off by back-to-back kills by Laura Gross.
• Purdue Fort Wayne led in most categories in the set, including kills (17 to 13) and digs (18 to 16) but the Sycamores led in hitting percentage (.225 to .214).
• The Mastodons'' Achilles heel were their four service errors in the set.

SET 2 – Indiana State 26, Purdue Fort Wayne 24

• The close set witnessed eight ties and four lead changes.
• Indiana State hit .395 (18-3-38) in the set compared to Purdue Fort Wayne's .234.
• Damadj Johnson and Laura Gross each registered four kills in the set.
• Makayla Knoblauch and Cassie Kawa teamed up for two blocks.

SET 3 – Indiana State 25, Purdue Fort Wayne 23

• Indiana State hit an outstanding .480 in the set with only one attack error (13-1-25).
• This set had four ties and three lead changes but the last Purdue Fort Wayne lead came at the 5-4 mark.
• Damadj Johnson notched five kills in the set with no errors, hitting 1.000 (5-0-5).

NOTABLES

• Purdue Fort Wayne leads the all-time series, 3-2, but the Sycamores have won the last two meetings against the Mastodons.
• The win marked the first for Indiana State over Purdue Fort Wayne when playing in Fort Wayne.
• Indiana State starts the season 2-0 for the first time since 2014.

UP NEXT
Indiana State faces Oakland in the final match of the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
 
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.