TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State volleyball fell in straights sets [16-25, 23-25, 22-25] during their season finale against Missouri State on Sunday afternoon inside the ISU Arena.
 
With the defeat, the Sycamores (7-12, 7-11 MVC) have solidified their position in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament next week, claiming the eighth seed. They will open on Thursday afternoon at noon ET against regular-season champions, Illinois State.
 
Offensively on Sunday, the Trees ended with a 42-36 kill advantage over the Bears (15-6, 11-5 MVC), led by freshmen Mallory Keller and Kaitlyn Hamilton who ended with nine and seven kills, respectively. The difference in the match came from 25 errors from the Sycamores compared to nine from Missouri State.
 
On the defensive side of the net, three Sycamores tallied exactly 10 digs. Melina Tedrow, Ashley Eck and Gretchen Kuckkan all tallied 10 digs, making up 30 of the Sycamores' 43 team digs. In addition to their 10 digs, both Kuckkan and Tedrow recorded a service ace. The opposition ended their day with 38 digs.
 
Another key difference in the match came at the net. Madeline Williams led the charge for the Blue & White with a solo block and block assist, but as a team ISU ended with just three total blocks. The Bears were dominant at the net in a reversal from Saturday, ending with 14 total blocks.
 
Indiana State also ended the afternoon with a 42-33 assist advantage, led by Chloe Mason with 19 assists and four digs while Mary Hannah Lewis, in her last home match of her career, tallied 18 assists, two digs and a service ace.
 
The Sycamores will now turn their attention to the MVC Tournament on Thursday, Apr. 1 when they open with Illinois State at 12 p.m. ET in Normal, Ill. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
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.