NORMAL, Ill. – Karinna Gall notched her seventh double-double of the season Friday night, while Melina Tedrow had 20-plus digs for the fourth straight match, but Illinois State edged Indiana State in five sets (20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 24-26, 15-9) inside Redbird Arena.
 
Gall finished with 14 kills and 18 digs, while Tedrow had 22 digs for the Sycamores. Kaitlyn Hamilton was the only other Tree to finish with double-digit kills as she had 13. Taylor Shelton (15) and Cadence Gilley (11) also had double-digit digs, while Mallory Keller (seven), Storm Suhre (six) and Jamie Brown (six) all had more than five blocks.
 
Indiana State took advantage of multiple Illinois State errors early in the first set to jump out to a 6-3 lead. The Redbirds bounced back but back-to-back kills by Keller were followed by a block assist by Keller and Brown, putting the Trees in front 11-9. The Sycamores continued to build onto their lead, as kills by Gall and Hamilton, along with aces by Gilley and Suhre in the middle stages of the set saw the Blue and White pull ahead 19-15. Illinois State cut the lead to two , but kills by Hamilton, Keller and Emma Kaelin late in the set saw the Sycamores take the opener, 25-20.
 
Illinois State jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second set and, despite a Sycamore rally on Tedrow's serve, never looked back. Indiana State cut the deficit to three at 11-8 following a kill by Hamilton and a block assist by Jazzlyn Ford and Brown, but the home side responded with three straight points of their own. Suhre and Gall had kills on consecutive plays to get within 19-15 but Illinois State closed out the set 25-17 to even the match at one.
 
After a back-and-forth start to the third set, Illinois State scored eight straight points to put the Sycamores in an 11-4 hole. Indiana State responded on Shelton's serve, though, scoring five straight points including a pair of kills by Gall. The Trees got within a point following kills by Gall and Suhre but Illinois State maintained its lead throughout, later extending it to five at 21-16 following a three-point run. Despite a kill by Gall late in the set, Illinois State won the third 25-21 and took a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
The home side raced out to a 7-2 lead to start the fourth set, but the Sycamores came roaring back. Hamilton had three kills as part of a 9-2 run that put the Trees in front 11-9, while Gilley added a service ace two points after the run ended to make it 13-10. Illinois State put together a run of its own to re-take the lead but the Sycamores had other ides. Kills by Hamilton and Suhre started a four-point swing to put the Trees in front 22-20. Illinois State fought off two set points, but a Redbird attack error was followed by a Suhre kill that gave Indiana State a 26-24 set win and sent the teams to a deciding fifth set.
 
Illinois State took an early 4-2 lead but the Trees tied it up following a Redbird service error and a service ace by Ford. The Redbirds took an 8-5 lead into the media timeout, but Indiana State countered by scoring three of the next four points, including a kill by Suhre and a block assist by Ford and Suhre. Illinois State caught fire late in the set, though, and closed out a 15-9 win in the decider.
 
Inside the Numbers

• Indiana State finished with 12 blocks, marking the fourth consecutive match the Sycamores reached double-digit blocks.
• As a team, Indiana State hit .308 in the first set, one of the best sets the Sycamores have had from an attacking standpoint this season. The Trees hit under .200 in the remaining four sets.
• Mallory Keller's seven blocks were a career high, and the first time she had more than five blocks in a match in her career.

 
News and Notes

• Friday's match was the first five-set match that Indiana State lost this season. The Sycamores were 6-2 in their last eight five-setters dating back to the start of the 2021 season prior to Friday.
• Six of Karinna Gall's seven double-doubles this season have come during MVC play. Gall's 14 career double-doubles are the most by a current Sycamore.
• Melina Tedrow sits 36 digs shy of reaching 2,000 for her career.

 
Up Next
Indiana State heads up I-74 to face Bradley Saturday at 6 p.m.
 
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