TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State women's volleyball fought to their second-consecutive five set match on Sunday afternoon when they hosted Illinois State, but couldn't close the final frame, falling to the Redbirds, 3-2.
 
With the loss, Indiana State fell to 1-3 (1-2) on the year while Illinois State improved to 4-3 (2-1).
 
Defensively it was close to an even match for both teams. The Trees were strong at the net, led by Madeline Williams' six block assists while Kaitlyn Hamilton and Mallory Keller each registered four. As a team the Sycamores recorded eight total blocks compared to Illinois State's 10.
 
Melina Tedrow once again had a big performance for the Blue & White, this time ending her day with a match-high 27 digs to go along with four assists. Freshman Ashley Eck had her strongest performance in a Sycamore uniform with 19 digs while Chloe Mason earned her third-straight double-double with 19 assists and 12 digs.
 
On the offensive side of the net, it was once again leading the charge for ISU, putting down 12 kills and was followed by Keller and Williams with 11 each. For the match, the Trees earned 54 kills while hitting .181. Illinois State finished with 58 kills, hitting .175. The dagger for the Sycamores came in the service game as they finished with five service aces and 12 service errors.
 
After falling in the first set, the Sycamores used impressive defense to earn their first set victory over the Redbirds since 2018. Winning set two, 25-20, ISU held the opposition to -.043 hitting. Then the Sycamores used strong offense to take a 2-1 match lead following a third set that featured 16 kills on .279 hitting.
 
Illinois State's offense came alive during the fourth set to keep the match going, tallying 17 kills en route to a 25-18 win. Their offensive momentum carried into the fifth and final set, opening the frame on a 6-1 run and never looking back to claim victory over the Trees.
 
Both squads will meet again tomorrow in the ISU Arena at 4 p.m. ET for the second match in the series. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.