TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State volleyball will open up Missouri Valley Conference play on Friday when they welcome in-state rival, Evansville, to the ISU Arena for a 6 p.m. ET first serve.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Sycamore volleyball was dominant in a home-and-home series with Eastern Illinois, earning the weekend sweep over the Panthers. The weekend began with a 3-0 victory where the Sycamores held EIU to -.094 hitting in a strong performance on both sides of the net. Indiana State held EIU to zero service aces on Friday after the Panthers entered the weekend ranked third in nation. When making the return trip to Eastern Illinois, Sycamore volleyball downed the opposition, 3-1, in Lantz Arena.
 
THE SERIES AT A GLANCE
Indiana State leads the series, 47-32, including a victory in the most recent contest during the spring 2021 season. The Sycamores were victorious, 3-1, at Evansville. This season, the Purple Aces lead the Valley in hitting percentage and are 45th nationally at .257 in addition to 10th nationally in aces per set at 2.11.
 
TREES ON FIRE
Indiana State's 8-2 start is the best start for the Sycamores since the 2014 campaign when they also began 8-2. With the pair of victories over Eastern Illinois over the weekend, the Trees are also on a seven-match winning streak, the second-longest in school history and the longest since the 1982 season when ISU won 14-straight and finished the year 37-10. The win streak is also currently the longest in the Valley.
 
CLIMBING THE LADDER
Melina Tedrow continued to claw her way up the Indiana State record book over the weekend, using 31 total digs over two matches to push her career number to 1364. She is now just 58 digs away from fifth in the record book. Nationally, Tedrow is 88th with 4.45 digs per set.
 
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Indiana State has creeped their way into the top-50 nationally in a defensive category, thanks to strong efforts at the Sycamore Invitational and against Eastern Illinois. The Sycamores rank 45th in the NCAA with 16.10 digs per set in with Melina Tedrow leading the way at libero. She sits at 88th in the nation with 4.45 digs per set as an individual.
 
ALL ABOUT INDIANA
In a complete flip from a season ago, the three Indiana school in the Valley (Indiana State, Evansville, Valparaiso) sit as the top-three squads Evansville enters MVC play with a 10-1 record while Valparaiso (9-2) and the Sycamores (8-2) are right behind them.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND
Sycamore volleyball accomplished a feat they hadn't managed to accomplish since the 2015 season over the weekend: claiming a preseason tournament title. Indiana State defeated IUPUI, Western Michigan and Austin Peay to go 3-0 on the weekend and win the Sycamore Invitational, their first championship since winning the 2015 ISU Classic. The 2021 tournament featured an impressive come-from-behind victory over Western Michigan, a team that finished 45th in RPI during the spring season. In addition to winning the tournament, ISU's five-match winning streak is also the longest since the 2015 campaign when they won five in-a-row.
 
#500
With an undefeated weekend at the Music City Invitational, Sycamore volleyball earned their 500th victory in program history. Indiana State clinched victory 500 on Saturday evening, defeating Belmont, 3-1, on the Bruins home court. The Sycamores' first official year of volleyball was 1977.
 
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.