DAYTON, Ohio – Indiana State volleyball picked up their first win of the season in impressive fashion, sweeping Western Illinois at the Wright State Invitational on Saturday.
 
The Sycamores found themselves down early in the first set, but fought back to win the set and never looked back, claiming the match 3-0 [25-21, 25-14, 25-17].
 
ISU had their best offensive outing of the season against the Leathernecks, hitting .207 for the match to go along with 43 kills. The opposition only managed to hit .084 with just 25 kills.
 
Three Sycamores tallied double-digit kills with Madeline Williams leading the team at 11, while Gretchen Kuckkan and Cassie Kawa earned 10 each. Kuckkan also finished with 10 digs, giving the freshman her second double-double of the invitational.
 
The Leathernecks were held in-check by the Sycamore defense, with no athletes finishing with double-digit kills and only one athlete, Mackenzie Steckler, finishing with more than five.
 
Freshman setter Chloe Mason and junior transfer Mary Hannah Lewis split the workload when it came to assists, recording 20 and 15, respectively.
 
Defensively, ISU ended with 58 digs to Western Illinois' 43. Freshman Taylor Shelton earned the most digs with 16 while libero Melina Tedrow earned 15. Mason also earned 13 digs, giving her a double-double for the first time in her career.
 
The only category that Western Illinois had the edge over the blue and white was blocks as they ended with five total blocks to ISU's three.
 
Set One - Indiana State 25, Western Illinois 21

• Indiana State found themselves trailing 19-13 in the first set, but ended the frame on a 12-2 run to earn the set victory.
• ISU only allowed six kills while WIU hit .026 in the set while also recording 25 digs.
• The Trees tallied 18 kills in the set, led by Williams' five.
• Mason finished the frame with double-digit assists at 11.

 
Set Two - Indiana State 25, Western Illinois 14

• The blue and white clamped-down defensively in the second set, allowing just seven kills and a hitting percent of .000.
• Western Illinois didn't register a single ace or block in the frame. ISU recorded five aces in the set.
• Mason tallied five digs in the set as well as five assists.
• The Sycamores hit .200 with 11 kills.

 
Set Three - Indiana State 25, Western Illinois 17

• Western Illinois had a better offensive set, but ISU still ended with 21 digs and only allowed 12 kills.
• Indiana State hit an impressive .314 in the frame, tallying 14 kills to just three errors.
• The Trees finished the set with three more aces, while Western didn't record a single ace in set two or three.

 
Up Next: The Sycamores finally return home on Tuesday, Sept. 17 to take on in-state rival IUPUI in the ISU Arena at 6 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.