Indiana State University Athletics

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State Volleyball will finally make its home debut in 2018 as the team hosts the Sycamore Invitational starting Friday. The Sycamores welcome Green Bay, Central Michigan and Saint Louis to the Wabash Valley for two days of action at ISU Arena.
 
PROMOTIONS

Date	Time	Opponent	Promotion
Friday, Sept. 7	6 p.m.	Green Bay	2018 Poster Giveaway
			Free T-Shirt for Every ISU Ace
			Free Pizza for Students presented by Labor Link
Saturday, Sept. 8	Noon	Central Michigan	Free T-Shirt for Every ISU Ace
Saturday, Sept. 8	7 p.m.	Saint Louis	Wabash Valley Volleyball Day
			Free T-Shirt for Every ISU Ace
			Autograph Night

 
The Sycamores (4-2) look to finish in their third weekend of play this season after finishing as runners-up in the first two tournaments of the year.
 
QUICK HITS
• Indiana State finally gets to play at home this weekend by hosting the Sycamore Invitational.
• The Sycamores have a 13-21 all-time record against teams competing in the Sycamore Invitational including a 10-9 mark against Saint Louis.
• Indiana State is 19-22 all-time in home openers but has won six of its last 10 including its last two home openers.
• The 2018 campaign marks the second season for the Sycamores under the direction of Lindsay Allman.
• With the 3-1 win over Liberty last weekend, Indiana State won its season opener for the second straight year.
• Setter Makayla Knoblauch was named the MVC's Freshman of the Week following the first weekend of play.
• Damadj Johnson received all-tournament honors for the first two weekends while Jade York (Purdue Fort Wayne) and Laura Gross (Tennessee) received an all-tournament honor.
 
OPENING SERVE
Indiana State finally gets to play at home as the program hosts the Sycamore Invitational this weekend at ISU Arena. Indiana State went 1-1 at the Sycamore Invitational last year with both matches going to five sets. That started a home campaign where ISU went 5-6 at home in Lindsay Allman's first year in Terre Haute.
 
WELCOME TO THE VALLEY
When Indiana State hosts the Sycamore Invitational this weekend, one team will be making their first appearance in the Wabash Valley. Despite ISU having nine previous meetings against Central Michigan, the Chippewas have never played in Terre Haute before. 
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Green Bay: The Phoenix enter the weekend with a 3-4 mark but have won two straight in a pair of 3-0 sweeps over Seattle and South Dakota State. That ended a four-match losing streak. GB is hitting .216 as a team.
 
Central Michigan: The Chippewas are 2-4 but have lost four of their last five matches, dropping a 3-1 decision to Valparaiso in their most recent outing. CMU is hitting .170 as a team.
 
Saint Louis: The Billikens (0-6) head to Terre Haute in search of their first win after a tough early schedule that included Miami (Ohio), Cincinnati, UC Santa Barbara, WKU, Kansas State and Marquette. SLU enters the weekend hitting .125 as a team.
 
D-FENSE
Damadj "D" Johnson is a tall task to face at the net. She may only stand at 6-0 but is seemingly a brick wall. Last weekend at the Rocky Top Invitational, Johnson tallied 14 total blocks (4-10) and moved into sole possession of 10th place all-time at Indiana State with her 209th career block assist. Johnson currently ranks 46th nationally in total blocks (29) and 58th nationally in blocks per set (1.32), leading the Valley in both categories (see page 5).
 
KNOBLAUCH AMONG LEADERS
Entering this weekend's play, Indiana State freshman Makayla Knoblauch is quietly making a name for herself as one of the most effective setters in the Valley and the nation. She currently ranks 39th nationally and second in the Valley in assists per set (10.91) while ranking 43rd nationally and third in the Valley in total assists (240).
 
ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID...
... Never the bride. For the second straight weekend, Indiana State went 2-1 in tournament play and finished as the runner-up. After back-to-back weekends of identical results and stellar play only to finish within grasp of a title, the Sycamores will open their home schedule and look for a tournament victory by hosting the Sycamore Invitational with Central Michigan, Green Bay and Saint Louis headed to the Wabash Valley.
 
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.