CINCINNATI – Karinna Gall recorded a team-high 14 kills along with 12 digs for her 15th career double-double, but Xavier defeated Indiana State in four sets (25-19,25-16,23-25,25-17) Friday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena in the season opener for both teams.
 
Mallory Keller added nine kills for the Trees, all of which came in the last two sets, while Kaitlyn Hamilton finished with six kills. Hannah Baudin had 31 assists, while Macy Lengacher and Cadence Gilley tallied 15 and 14 digs, respectively.
 
Indiana State opened the match strong with kills by Hamilton and Ella Scott, but Xavier used a six-point swing midway through and never looked back in the first set. Hamilton and Gall helped trim the deficit with kills in the later stages of the set, and a block assist by Madisen Perry and Scott made it 20-18, but the Musketeers took the first set 25-19.
 
The Sycamores and Musketeers traded early blows in the second set, with Scott registering a pair of kills within the first 10 points of the set. Storm Suhre and Scott added kills midway through to get the Trees within 13-9, but Indiana State never got closer than a four-point deficit for the remainder of the set. Hamilton and Gall tacked on kills late in the set, but the Trees found themselves with work to do after dropping the second set 25-16.
 
Baudin, Keller, Hamilton and Gall each had kills early in the fourth set, as the Sycamores and Musketeers were neck-and-neck early on. A 5-1 Xavier run saw the Sycamores trail 13-8 before Hamilton ended the run with a kill. Xavier extended its advantage up to seven points before Keller and Gall recorded kills on back-to-back plays to make it 20-15. The Musketeers kept their foot on the gas, though, and closed out the match by taking the fourth set 25-16.
 
Inside the Numbers

• Karinna Gall's double-double was the 15th of her career. She had seven double-doubles in each of the last two seasons.
• Mallory Keller hit a team-best .381 on 21 attempts, despite not playing in the first two sets.
• Hannah Baudin registered the first 30-assist game in a season opener for the Sycamores since the 2019 opener against Northeastern.

 
News and Notes

• Indiana State's third-set win was its first set win in a season opener since the first set of the 2021 season.
• Hannah Baudin, Macy Lengacher, Madisen Perry and Ella Scott made their Indiana State debuts Friday.
• Friday's match was the first of two straight against 2022 postseason teams.

 
Up Next
Indiana State continues play at the Tribute to #10 Tournament in Cincinnati Saturday at 3 p.m. against Alabama State.
 
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