VALPARAISO, Ind. – Indiana State junior Nikki White recorded 10 kills for the Sycamores and hung tough with Valparaiso but the Crusaders earned a sweep over visiting Indiana State by scores of 25-18, 25-22, 25-18 on Friday night inside the Athletics-Recreation Center.
 
ISU fell to 5-16, 3-8 MVC while Valparaiso improved to 9-16, 4-7 MVC.
 
White led the way with 10 kills and six digs for the Sycamores. Chloe Mason tallied 16 assists in the match while Melina Tedrow owned 19 digs.
 
Valparaiso took an early 1-0 lead over the Sycamores until ISU was able to win six of the next seven points to race out to an early lead. The run began with a kill by Kylie Newby and continued with a Crusader attack error for the 6-2 advantage. Newby would record a kill to knot the contest at 13 before Valpo scored seven in a row to push the Crusaders out to a 20-13 cushion. A kill by Ally Cummins on the second set point gave the Crusaders the 25-18 victory and a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
In the opening set, Newby led the way with four kills while Jade York added seven digs.
 
The Crusaders took an 11-6 lead in the second set until the Sycamores got a run going with blocks from Mary Hannah Lewis and Cassie Kawa. The Sycamores would tie the match at 11 on a service ace by Melina Tedrow. Nikki White would get a kill to push the Sycamores ahead 15-14 after each team traded points. Another White kill gave Indiana State a 20-18 cushion.
 
A kill by Madeline Williams would tie the set at 22, but the Crusaders scored the final three points of the set to take a 25-22 victory and a 2-0 lead in the match. White tried to lead a comeback as she recorded five kills in the second set and led a couple of runs, but Valparaiso had the final run and took a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Block assists from White and Madeline Williams as well as a Valparaiso attack error pushed the Sycamores out to a quick 2-0 lead in the third set. A kill by Kawa staked the Sycamores to a 9-8 lead by the Crusaders scored the next six points as they raced ahead 14-9. Kawa recorded a kill to stop the run and cut the Crusaders lead down to just four. The Sycamores would get a close as two points again late in the set, but Valparaiso scored the final three points to take the third set 25-18.
 
Jaclyn Bulmahn led the way for Valparaiso with 12 kills.
 
Indiana State returns to the court on Saturday, November 2 when they travel to Loyola for a 5 pm (ET) matchup in Chicago. The game will be televised live nationally on ESPN+.