CARBONDALE, Ill. – Emma Kaelin had a career-high nine kills along with 34 assists Friday night, but it came in a four-set loss for Indiana State against Southern Illinois (25-18, 24-26, 25-22, 25-23) inside Davies Gym.
 
Kaelin also had eight digs and a career-high five blocks, while Kaitlyn Hamilton finished just shy of a double-double with 16 kills and nine digs. Cadence Gilley recorded three service aces, with Indiana State finishing the night with a season-best 10 aces as a team.
 
Indiana State found itself in an early hole as SIU jumped out to a 13-6 lead in the first set. Three kills by Hamilton in a six-point span helped inch the Sycamores closer, and a Taylor Shelton service ace cut the deficit to 22-18. That was the closest the Sycamores got for the remainder of the set, though, as SIU took the final three points to claim the opening set 25-18.
 
SIU carried its momentum into the second set, taking a 9-5 lead. The Sycamores had a response, though, as kills by Kaelin and Mallory Keller spearheaded a scoring run for the Blue and White to cut the deficit to two. Indiana State took the lead midway through the set following a kill by Hamilton and a block assist by Kaelin and Jamie Brown, but SIU answered by taking six of the next eight points to jump ahead 22-17. Indiana State closed the set strong, as a pair of aces by Gilley helped the Sycamores fend off two set points on their way to a come-from-behind 26-24 win in the second.
 
Similar to the first two sets, SIU took an early lead in the third, but the Sycamores answered with kills by Storm Suhre, Kaelin and Hamilton to even the set at 10-all midway through. Indiana State pulled ahead 17-15 following a Kaelin service ace and a kill by Keller but the Salukis scored four of the next five points to put the Sycamores in a hole. The Trees responded with a service ace by Melina Tedrow and later retook the lead at 22-21, but four straight SIU points to close out the set gave the Salukis a 25-21 win in the third.
 
Indiana State had a much better start to the fourth set, taking a 7-6 lead following a pair of kills by Hamilton. Hamilton added a service ace to knot the set at 10-apiece, but SIU pulled ahead 15-12 by the time the teams reached the media timeout. The Sycamores clawed their way to within a point following a kill by Karinna Gall and a kill later in the set by Suhre made it a 22-21 deficit, but it wasn't enough as SIU closed out the win on its home court by taking the fourth set 25-23.
 
Inside the Numbers

• Indiana State had the advantage in blocks for the 10th straight match, totaling seven or more blocks in all but one of those matches.
• Three different Sycamores recorded multiple service aces Friday, with Cadence Gilley notching three aces, and Kaitlyn Hamilton and Emma Kaelin tallying two apiece.
• Indiana State's middle blockers combined for 14 kills on a .306 hitting percentage (Jamie Brown – six kills, 13 attempts; Storm Suhre – eight kills, 23 attempts).

 
News and Notes

• Cadence Gilley's three service aces are the second-most for a Sycamore in a match this season. Only Melina Tedrow has had more than three aces in a match this season (four vs. Missouri State).
• Indiana State's second-set win snapped a streak of 17 consecutive sets lost. It was also just the fourth set won by the Sycamores in a road match this season.
• Kaitlyn Hamilton finished one dig shy of her first double-double and one kill shy of tying her career high of 17.

 
 
Up Next
Indiana State's four-match road trip concludes Saturday evening with a 6 p.m. match at Missouri State.
 
Follow the Sycamores
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. Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from both the App Store and the Google Play Store.