TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State begins its final homestand of the season Friday when it plays host to Belmont. The Sycamores host Murray State on Saturday and travel to Evansville on Tuesday to close out the season.
Friday's match against Belmont will be played at 6 p.m., with Saturday's contest against Murray State set for 5 p.m. Tuesday's match at Evansville is slated for a 7 p.m. start.
Last Time Out
Indiana State went 0-2 last weekend to close out its four-match road trip, falling in four sets at Southern Illinois before dropping a three-set contest at Missouri State. The Sycamores' second-set win over Southern Illinois was their first set won since October 14.
Kaitlyn Hamilton led the Sycamore attack with 27 kills (16 at Southern Illinois, 11 at Missouri State), while
Melina Tedrow had 26 digs across the two matches for the Blue and White.
Senior Weekend
Prior to Saturday's match against Murray State, Indiana State will honor departing seniors
Melina Tedrow,
Taylor Shelton and
Kylie Newby for their contributions to the program.
The three seniors have each played an instrumental role during their time in Terre Haute, helping lead Indiana State to its first-ever Division I postseason appearance in 2021.
Climbing the Charts
Indiana State libero
Melina Tedrow has a chance to crack the top 10 in MVC history in career digs, needing less than 40 digs over the last three matches of the season to reach 10th all-time in the conference.
Tedrow recently moved into 12th all-time in the conference with 2,057 career digs. She sits 38 away from reaching the top 10.
Calling Card
Indiana State's calling card has been on the defensive side this season, as the Sycamores are second in the conference in blocks per set overall (2.23 per set) and first in conference play (2.43 per set).
The Trees also rank second in the Missouri Valley Conference in digs per set (16.82 per set) while leading the league in the statistic during conference play (17.61 per set).
First Time for Everything
Friday's match against Belmont will be the first-ever meeting in Terre Haute between the Bruins and Sycamores. The two schools split the two previous meetings in Nashville, with Indiana State winning in 2021 and Belmont winning earlier this season.
Indiana State will also look for its first-ever win over Murray State, as the Racers have won each of the three previous meetings between the schools.
Block Party
Indiana State's blockers have hit a new level since the calendar flipped to conference play, as the Trees have become a thorn for opposing teams at the net.
131 of Indiana State's 183 blocks this season have come in the Sycamores' 15 conference matches, including five matches with double-digit blocks against conference foes.
