CHARLESTON, S.C. – After struggling on the offensive side of the net on Friday, Indiana State volleyball saw no shortage of offense on Saturday afternoon, defeating Eastern Michigan 3-1 (25-15,25-22,23-25,25-14) at the College of Charleston Invitational.
 
The Sycamores (1-1, 0-0 MVC) used personal-best performances by both Mallory Keller and Karinna Gall on offense to pull away from the Eagles (1-1, 0-0 MAC). Keller put down 17 kills while Gall ended with 16 as Indiana State ended with a 60-45 advantage. Kaitlyn Hamilton also ended with double-digit kills, finishing the night with 10. The Blue & White finished the afternoon hitting .299.
 
Freshman setter Emma Kaelin was impressive for the Trees, leading the assist-game with 34 to go along with nine digs. Her contribution, along with 12 assists from Mason, led to a 57-43 assist advantage over Eastern Michigan.
 
Indiana State ended their day with 10 service aces, the most since posting 12 against Southern Illinois on Mar. 8, 2021. Madeline Williams led the charge with four while Mason and Taylor Shelton each added two.
 
Defensively, Gall secured the first double-double of her career, posting 11 digs along with her 16 kills. Melina Tedrow tallied 14 to lead all Sycamores while Kaelin and Ashley Eck got down for nine and eight, respectively. The Eagles, led by 17 digs from Kamryn Stillwell, ended with more digs than the Trees, 52-49.
 
At the net, Eastern Michigan was in control as well, with a 6-2 advantage in total blocks. Four Sycamores tallied a block assist for a total of two blocks in the match.
 
There was no shortage of offense in the opening set for either teams, with both racing out to an 11-11 stalemate before Williams used back-to-back service aces to help ISU to a 3-0 run and 14-11 advantage. Later in the set the Trees extended their lead to 18-12 after using a 4-0 run, thanks in part to kills from Keller and Hamilton. Indiana State would go on to take set one 25-15, using an impressive nine kills from Gall and .333 hitting percentage as a team to dominate the opening frame.
 
Early in set two, the Eagles pushed their way to a 7-4 lead behind a slow offensive start for the Trees. Facing a 16-13 deficit later in the set, Shelton checked-in and made an immediate impact with consecutive kills to pull ISU within one. Late in the second frame, ISU used a 5-0 run that featured two service aces from Mason, to lead 23-19 and eventually take the set, 25-22.
 
Set three began with an early 6-0 run from the Blue & White, capped off by a Shelton ace, to lead 6-2. After falling behind in the middle of the set, the first block of the match for the Sycamores from Kaelin and Williams moved the Trees in front, 19-18, but after a back-and-forth affair the Eagles would claim the set.
 
From the beginning of the fourth frame, it was all Indiana State. The Sycamores raced out to a 17-9 lead, eventually taking the set 25-14, using 16 kills while hitting .464 to claim their first win of the season.
 
Indiana State is back in action this evening at 7 p.m. ET when the matchup with host College of Charleston in TD Arena.
 
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.