TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State begins a stretch of four home matches out of its next five, starting Friday and Saturday against preseason favorites Drake and Northern Iowa. The Sycamores' lone road tilt during the span is Monday at Evansville.
Friday's match against Drake starts at 6 p.m., with first serve in Saturday's match against Northern Iowa set for 4 p.m. and Monday's match at Evansville slated for 7 p.m. The Sycamores' matches on Friday and Monday will be streamed on ESPN+.
Matchday Promotions
Friday's match has been designated as Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night. All Indiana State faculty and staff are invited as a gesture of appreciation for what they do for the Indiana State volleyball program and the Indiana State University community.
Saturday's match has been designated as Volleyball Camper Day. Anyone who attended an Indiana State Volleyball Camp in the summer is invited back to campus for the Sycamores' match against defending conference champion Northern Iowa.
Last Time Out
The Sycamores are coming off back-to-back four-set losses on the road to Missouri State and Southern Illinois. The setbacks concluded a four-match road trip to open conference play for Indiana State.
Kira Holland was named the MVC Freshman of the Week after posting double-doubles in each of the two matches. Holland had a career-high 20 kills to go along with 11 digs at Missouri State and followed that with a 17-kill, 11-dig performance at Southern Illinois.
Double Vision
Indiana State outside hitter
Kira Holland posted double-doubles in back-to-back matches for the first time in her career against Missouri State and Southern Illinois. Holland had a career-best 20 kills to go along with 11 digs at Missouri State, and followed that performance with a 17-kill, 11-dig outing at Southern Illinois. She earned her first MVC Freshman of the Week honor following the pair of double-doubles
Through the first four matches of conference play, Holland has three double-digit kill performances and three double-digit dig performances. She is averaging 3.53 kills and 2.93 digs per set through the first two weekends of conference play.
Moving to the Middle
After playing exclusively on the outside during the non-conference portion of play, Indiana State's
Madisen Perry transitioned to part of the Sycamores' middle blocker rotation during the first two weekends of conference play.
Perry recorded five or more kills in each of the last three matches and also has five blocks during that span. She tallied a career-best eight kills against Murray State and hit a season-high .273 in the Sycamores' last match at Southern Illinois. More than half of Perry's kills this season have come since the switch to middle blocker.
Home Sweet Home
Indiana State returns to the friendly confines of ISU Arena for just the second time this season, and first time during conference play. The Sycamores played just one non-conference home match, with that coming on September 15 against IUPUI. Indiana State drew an overflow crowd for that match.
Six of Indiana State's 10 home matches on the 2023 schedule take place in the month of October, starting this weekend. The Trees are at home for three of the four weekends in the month of October.
Killing It
Indiana State is well represented among the MVC's kills leaders this season, as
Kira Holland (3.15 per set),
Kaitlyn Hamilton (2.39 per set) and
Karinna Gall (2.31 per set) all rank in the top 30 in the conference.
Ella Scott sits just outside the top 30 with 2.13 kills per set. Every outside hitter who has seen the floor for the Sycamores during the 2023 season has averaged more than 1.4 kills per set.
As a team, Indiana State is averaging 11.9 kills per set this season, marking an increase of 0.6 kills per set compared to the 2022 season.
New Blood
Indiana State has relied heavily on its newcomers since the calendar turned to conference play.
Kira Holland leads the Sycamores in kills and digs,
Avery Hales leads the team in assists and
Ella Scott leads the team in blocks, hitting percentage and aces during conference play, while Macy Legacher has been the Sycamore libero in every match.
In addition, newcomers
Jadyn Smith and
Madisen Perry both average more than 1.4 kills per set against conference foes. Overall, all seven newcomers who have been active for a match this season have played in at least six matches, while five newcomers have appeared in double-digit matches for the Trees.
Opponents At A Glance
Drake opens the weekend at 10-6 overall and 3-1 in conference play. The Bulldogs are coming off a split at home last weekend, defeating Valparaiso and falling to UIC. Taylor Oberpriller (236 kills), Macy Daufeldt (196 kills) and Haley Bush (176) kills lead a strong attack, while Jada Wills leads the MVC with 5.98 digs per set.
Northern Iowa sits at 10-6 overall and is the lone conference unbeaten at 4-0. The Panthers defeated UIC and Valpo last week. Kira Fallert (189 kills) and Emily Holterhaus (180 kills) lead a balanced Panther attack, with Tayler Alden dishing out 9.91 assists per set.
Evansville enters the weekend at 6-9 overall and 1-3 in MVC play. The Purple Aces went 0-2 last week with losses to Missouri State and Southern Illinois. Evansville boasts the nation's leader in kills in Giulia Cardona (5.49 per set).
Series History
Drake has a 42-30 advantage in the all-time series and won last year's meeting in Terre Haute. The Bulldogs and Sycamores have split the last six meetings between the programs, with Indiana State's last win in the series coming during the 2021 season.
Northern Iowa has a 67-6 lead in the all-time series, though Indiana State is 2-3 in the last five meetings against the Panthers. Northern Iowa won the lone meeting last season, with the three sets decided by a total of eight points.
Indiana State leads the all-time series against Evansville 47-35, though the Purple Aces have won each of the last three matches in the series. The Sycamores' last win in Evansville came during the 2020-21 spring season that was altered due to COVID-19.
Up Next
Indiana State is back at home to face Valparaiso (Oct. 13) and UIC (Oct. 14). The Friday match against Valpo is Mental Health Awareness night for the Sycamores, while the Saturday match against UIC is Breast Cancer Awareness Night.
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.
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