College of Charleston Invitational
Date	Friday, Aug. 27 | 4:30 p.m. ET // Saturday, Aug. 28 | 12 p.m. & 7 p.m.
Location // Venue	Charleston, S.C. // TD Arena
Notes	Indiana State Notes | MVC Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats Feed
Watch	N/A
Social Media	@IndStVB // @IndStAthletics

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Indiana State volleyball is set to begin the official 2021 season this weekend when they travel south for the College of Charleston Invitational in Charleston, S.C.
 
The Trees are slated to open the tournament on Friday, Aug. 27 at 4:30 p.m. ET against Kennesaw State before matchups with Eastern Michigan and College of Charleston on Saturday at 12 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET, respectively. The matches will not be streamed, but live results can be followed at cofcsports.com.
 
THE SERIES AT A GLANCE
Kennesaw State: Friday marks the first meeting between the programs.
Eastern Michigan: The Sycamores hold a 3-1 advantage, last meeting in 2015 with ISU winning the last two matches.
College of Charleston: ISU and College of Charleston have met once before during the 2001 season, with the Trees taking the victory.
 
CLIMBING THE LADDER
Melina Tedrow continued to etch her name into the Indiana State record book during the spring 2021 season. She now sits in eighth in career digs at ISU, boasting 1187 during her three years. Her 5.0 digs per set marked the fourth-best season by a Sycamore in Indiana State history, while her 5.35 digs per set from 2019 sits at second in the record book.
 
OFFENSIVE CHANGES
The 2019 season saw Sycamore volleyball towards the bottom of every major offensive statistical category. During the spring season, ISU flipped the script, ending at second in the Valley in hitting percentage at .199 and fourth in kills per set at 12.97 while also finishing eighth in the nation in team attacks per set at 40.06 and 40th in total kills at 999. ISU also held the third-best mark in the nation of total attacks in a three-set match with 163 from their Feb. 15 match with Bradley.
 
BACK-TO-BACK?
During the spring 2021 campaign, Sycamore volleyball punched their first ticket to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament since the 2017 season when they picked up their first-ever postseason victory, defeating Drake 3-0 before falling to #25 Missouri State. Their 2021 appearance was the 11th in school history and a return trip during the fall would mark the first time since 2003-2004 that the Sycamores qualified in back-to-back years.
 
STILL DEFENSIVE
While offensive changes helped propel the Sycamores to their first MVC Tournament since 2017, the ISU defense remained strong during the spring season. The Blue & White finished 15th nationally in digs per set at 18.36, 14th in team digs at 1,414 and Melina Tedrow was 42nd in the nation with 5.03 digs per set as well as 22nd in total digs at 387.
 
BACK HOME AGAIN
For the first time since the 2018 campaign, Indiana State will host the Sycamore Invitational at the ISU Arena from Sept. 9-11. The Trees hosted a home tournament every year from 2014-2018. ISU will welcome IUPUI, Western Michigan and Austin Peay for the 2021 Invitational.
 
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.