CHARLESTON, S.C. – Indiana State volleyball fell to Kennesaw State, 1-3 (25-22, 23-25, 20-25, 21-25), in the season-opener on Friday afternoon at the College of Charleston Invitational.
 
Senior libero Melina Tedrow continued to move her way up the Indiana State record book, tallying a team-best 23 digs to give her 1,210 career digs, moving her past Stacy Stanton for seventh in ISU history. She is now 58 digs away from sixth.
 
The Sycamores (0-1, 0-0 MVC) were led offensively by Karinna Gall who tallied 11 kills, which tied a career-high, to go along with two blocks. Kaitlyn Hamilton and Madeline Williams each added eight kills of their own, but the Owls (1-0, 0-0 Big South) held a 50-41 advantage in the category. For the match, the Trees hit .145.
 
Freshman Emma Kaelin had a strong outing in the first match of her collegiate career, recording a double-double with 17 assists and 11 digs. Terre Haute native Chloe Mason contributed 16 assists and nine digs for ISU.
 
Defensively, the Blue & White were strong, tallying 67 digs for 16.75 digs per set, led by Tedrow's 23 digs. The opposition ended the evening with 55 digs. At the net, Kennesaw State was in control with an 11-6 advantage in blocks. Williams was the top Sycamore defender in the middle, getting up for four block assists with freshman Storm Suhre and Gall each contributing two block assists.
 
The Owls were led by Emma Schurfranz who recorded 16 kills and eight total blocks.
 
Indiana State started the match on fire offensively, using a .444 hitting percentage to open with a set victory at 25-22. The Trees tallied 13 kills in the opening frame, but struggled to get the groove back offensively in the following three sets, hitting no higher than .118.  
 
A pair of matches await the Blue & White on Saturday at the College of Charleston Invitational, beginning with Eastern Michigan at 12 p.m. ET. The Sycamores will then finish the tournament with a match against the host, College of Charleston, at 7 p.m. ET.
 
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.