TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State registered a season-high 14 blocks Monday evening, but it wasn't enough to defeat visiting Evansville as the Sycamores fell in four sets (18-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-21) inside ISU Arena.
Jamie Brown led the team with a career-best nine blocks, eight of those being block assists.
Storm Suhre had 13 kills, while
Kaitlyn Hamilton added 11 kills, six blocks and five digs.
Emma Kaelin had 21 assists, while
Melina Tedrow notched a match-high 20 digs.
After dropping the opening point, Indiana State scored the next two on kills by Hamilton and
Taylor Shelton and never trailed from there on in the opening set. The Sycamores took advantage of nine attack errors and a pair of service errors from Evansville in the opening set, with Hamilton, Brown and Suhre combining for 10 kills in the set. Indiana State went on a 7-2 run, capped by a
Cadence Gilley service ace, to lead 18-11 late in the set. Late kills by both Brown and Suhre, combined with multiple Evansville errors, saw the Sycamores take the opening set 25-18.
Evansville jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second set, but the Sycamores responded with six straight points of their own, including back-to-back service aces by
Karinna Gall. The Sycamores and Purple Aces traded scoring runs until a five-point swing saw Evansville go ahead 15-12 at the media timeout. Indiana State rallied back with kills by Gall and Suhre to take a 21-20 lead, and later had two set points, but Evansville scored the final four points to take the second set 26-24.
Indiana State and Evansville exchanged early runs, with neither team leading by more than two until a three-point run put the visitors ahead 10-7. The Trees responded with kills by Suhre and
Mallory Keller and later took a 12-11 lead following a Purple Aces attack erros, but Evansville went on a 5-0 run to lead 16-12. A Keller kille followed by a block assist by Hamilton and Brown cut the deficit to two, but that was the closest Indiana State got. Evansville scored five of the last seven points in the set to take the third 25-18 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Evansville jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the fourth set and never looked back. The Sycamores got within four at 12-8 following kills by Hamilton and
Emma Kaelin, along with multiple UE attack errors, and a block assist by Suhre and
Jazzlyn Ford later made it a three-point deficit at 14-11. Evansville had a response, though, scoring four of the next five points to take an 18-12 lead. Hamilton, Suhre and Gall all had kills late in the set, but the visitors held on to clinch the match with a 25-21 win in the fourth.
Inside the Numbers
- Indiana State's two best sets by hitting percentage were sets the Sycamores lost, the third and fourth.
- The 14 blocks recorded by the Sycamores were the most since the 2021 NIVC First Round Match against Toledo.
- With 20 digs against Evansville, Melina Tedrow finished with 20-plus digs in all three matches of the Sycamores' homestand that wrapped up Monday.
News and Notes
- Monday's match was the second this season in which Indiana State lost despite winning the opening set (Wright State), and the first time it happened during Valley play.
- Indiana State's last match to fall on a Monday was Oct. 11, 2021 against Southern Illinois.
- Melina Tedrow sits 58 digs shy of reaching 2,000 for her career.
Up Next
Indiana State closes its three-match homestand Monday against Evansville, with first serve set for 6 p.m.
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