TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State returns to the friendly confines of ISU Arena for a three-match MVC homestand starting Friday evening against Missouri State.
The Sycamores will also face Southern Illinois and Evansville during that stretch, with the three matches coming in a four-day span.
Matchday Promotions and Events
Friday's match will feature a mini volleyball giveaway for those in attendance. Indiana State will also recognize
Melina Tedrow for becoming the school's all-time digs leader prior to Friday's match.
Indiana State will wear green ribbons for both Friday and Saturday's matches to honor Mental Illness Awareness Week.
Last Time Out
Indiana State went 0-2 during its first Missouri Valley Conference road trip of the season, dropping a four-set contest at Murray State and falling in three sets to Belmont.
Karinna Gall led the Sycamores with double-doubles in both matches last weekend, totaling 27 kills and 22 digs across the two matches.
Mallory Keller had 13 kills against Murray State, while
Kaitlyn Hamilton had 14 kills over the course of the weekend.
Road Trippin'
Indiana State's upcoming homestand will have a different feeling compared to most conference weekends. The Sycamores will play three home matches in a four-day span, starting Friday against Missouri State.
The three-match homestand in a four-day span isn't completely unfamiliar to the Sycamores, however. Indiana State did the same thing during the 2021 season, going 2-1 against Loyola Chicago, Valparaiso and Missouri State in a late October-early November four-day, three-match homestand.
The upcoming three-match homestand also represents Indiana State's longest stretch of consecutive home matches this season.
Next Level
Indiana State outside hitter
Karinna Gall has stepped up her play since the start of Missouri Valley Conference play. Gall has three double-doubles in the first four conference matches this season, including 14-kill efforts against both Bradley and Belmont. Her 12 digs against Belmont also led the Sycamores against the Bruins.
Gall has also been a netfront presence for the Trees since the calendar turned to conference play, as 10 of her 17 blocks this season have come during the Sycamores' four MVC matches.
Strength in Numbers
Indiana State boasts an impressive amount of depth in its junior class, as many of the Sycamores' top offensive talent comes from that group. ISU's top three kills leaders from last season are all juniors in
Mallory Keller,
Kaitlyn Hamilton and
Karinna Gall.
Hamilton (103), Gall (96) and Keller (86) currently pace the Sycamores when it comes to kills, and all three rank among the top 40 in the Missouri Valley Conference in kills per set. Hamilton has recorded double-digit kills in five matches this season, including a career-high 17 in Indiana State's five-set win over Campbell. Keller had 16 kills in the win over Campbell and followed that with nine kills against No. 14 Kentucky. Gall has tallied six or more kills in six of the first 10 matches this season, including a season-high 14 against Bradley.
In addition to Gall's exploits on the offensive end, she has also showcased her talents on defense. Her 112 digs rank second on the team behind only
Melina Tedrow, while her 2.73 digs per set rank inside the top 20 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Keller and Hamilton have both tallied more than 25 digs this season, with the former registering three matches with four or more digs and the latter having five or more digs in four different matches this season.
Block Party
Jamie Brown has been a problem at the net for opposing teams in the Valley this season, as she has 18 blocks in four MVC matches. Brown leads the Sycamores with 1.29 blocks per set during conference play, a mark that ranks third in the Valley. She is one of just 10 players in the conference to average at least one block per set in MVC play.
Brown isn't the only Sycamore shutting things down at the net in conference play.
Storm Suhre,
Karinna Gall, and
Kaitlyn Hamilton all rank in the top 25 in blocks per set during conference play. Suhre (one solo, 11 assist) is 16th in the conference with 0.86 blocks per set while Gall (10 assist) and Hamilton (two solo, eight assist) are tied for 22nd in the conference with 0.71 blocks per set.
Up Next
Indiana State heads back on the road for a pair of MVC matches, facing Illinois State and Bradley next weekend.
The Sycamores will face Illinois State October 14 at 7 p.m., while squaring off with Bradley October 15 at 6 p.m.
