TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State's 2023 season came to a close Wednesday evening, as the Sycamores fell in four sets to Evansville (28-26, 21-25, 25-15, 25-17) inside ISU Arena.
 
Ella Scott paced the Sycamores with 11 kills, while Kira Holland had 10 kills and 17 digs. Karinna Gall finished one kill shy of a double-double with nine kills and a career-high 24 digs in her final match as a Sycamore.
 
Storm Suhre, Avery Hales and Scott got things started with early kills, while a block from Suhre and Holland gave the Sycamores a 9-7 lead. Indiana State increased its lead to 16-10 thanks in part to aces from Holland and Cadence Gilley, but Evansville rallied back to cut the Sycamores' lead to two. The Sycamores led by as many as three late in the set, but Evansville came back to tie things up. Gall helped the Trees fend off a set point with a kill, but Evansville took the first set 28-26.  
 
Evansville scored four of the first five points in the second, but kills from Hall and Kaitlyn Hamilton helped the Sycamores go on a five-point run to even the score at seven. Kills from Holland and Scott helped the Trees take the lead midway through the set, and Suhre and Hales tacked on to that advantage later in the set with kills. Evansville cut the Sycamore advantage to 22-21, but kills from Scott and Hamilton pushed the Sycamore lead back up to three. Hales gave the Trees a 25-21 second set win with an ace.
 
The visitors scored the first four points of the third set and never looked back. Kills from Hales and Scott got the Sycamores on the scoreboard in the set, but a lengthy run for Evansville saw the Purple Aces toa a double-digit lead. Indiana State never got in a rhythm until late in the set, at which point the Sycamores were already down by 15. Kills from Holland and Emma Kaelin came as part of a run that helped the Trees fend off six straight set points. Evansville ended the run, though, and took the third set 25-15.
 
Scott and Hales started the scoring for the Sycamores in the fourth with kills, with the former responsible for three early in the set. Gall kept the set tied early on, but a four-point run saw Evansville take a 9-5 lead. Three straight kills from Holland got the Trees within a point, but a six-point Evansville run followed to give the Purple Aces a 15-8 lead. Scott and Gall helped the Trees inch closer with kills, and Kaelin added a service ace late, but Indiana State was ultimately unable to generate the rally it needed. Evansville clinched the match by taking the fourth set 25-17.
 
News and Notes

• Indiana State closed its season at 5-23 overall and 3-15 in conference play. Both the overall and conference win totals were improvements from the 2022 season.
• Wednesday's match was the final match in a Sycamore uniform for Karinna Gall, Asia Povlin, Mallory Keller, Kaitlyn Hamilton and Jamie Brown.
• Indiana State finished its season with an average attendance of 453, which equates to 91 percent capacity inside ISU Arena.

 
 
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