TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State competes in its second early-season tournament of the 2023 campaign when it takes part in the Lindenwood Invitational Friday and Saturday.
The Sycamores open play with a Friday twinbill, facing off against UL-Monroe and Austin Peay on the opening day. Indiana State closes the weekend Saturday against Lindenwood, with the Sycamores' match against the Lions to be broadcast on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
Indiana State went 1-2 in its season-opening tournament, the Tribute to #10 Tournament hosted by Cincinnati. The Sycamores won their first match of the 2023 season Saturday afternoon, taking down Alabama State in four sets.
Indiana State hit .328 as a team and had 12 service aces in the win both of which represented the Sycamores' best marks in those statistics in head coach
Ashlee Pritchard's tenure.
Weekly Winner
Indiana State picked up its first weekly honor of the 2023 season Monday, as
Macy Lengacher was named the MVC Freshman of the Week.
Lengacher led all MVC freshmen with 40 digs and 3.64 digs per set during the opening weekend of play, serving as the Sycamores' libero for all 11 sets played. She also added four aces, two each against Xavier and Alabama State.
The weekly honor was the first for Indiana State since November 2021. Prior to Lengacher, the last time a Sycamore was named the MVC Freshman of the Week was the opening week of the 2018 season.
Aced It
Indiana State served up 12 aces in its four-set win over Alabama State, marking the most for the Sycamores in head coach
Ashlee Pritchard's tenure at the helm of the program. It was just the second time since the start of the 2022 season that the Sycamores recorded double-digit aces in a match.
Four Sycamores had multiple aces in the match, while
Emma Kaelin and
Hannah Baudin had three aces apiece. It was the first time since November 2021 that Indiana State had multiple players with three or more aces in the same match.
Indiana State finished with more aces than its opponents in two of its first three matches. The Sycamores had more aces than Xavier (4-1) and Alabama State (12-7) in their matches against those programs.
Seeing Double
Indiana State outside hitter
Karinna Gall's 2023 season got off to a hot start, as the Sycamore senior recorded double-doubles in each of the first two matches of the 2023 season.
Gall opened the season with a 14-kill, 12-dig effort against Xavier and followed that with an 18-kill, 15-dig performance in the Sycamores' win over Alabama State. The double-doubles were the first two for Indiana State this season.
Gall enters the weekend with 16 career double-doubles, the second-most on the Indiana State active roster behind only
Emma Kaelin (17).
Strength In Numbers
Indiana State hit .328 in its win over Alabama State, the highest hitting percentage the Sycamores have had in a match under head coach
Ashlee Pritchard.
The win over the Hornets was a balanced effort from an attacking standpoint, as
Karinna Gall (18),
Kaitlyn Hamilton (15) and
Mallory Keller (12) all posted double-digit kills for the Sycamores.
It was the first time since Indiana State's five-set win over Campbell in September 2022 that the Sycamores had multiple athletes with 15 or more kills in the same match.
Opponents At A Glance
UL-Monroe enters the weekend at 1-3 overall following a tough five-set loss to Grambling State. Indiana State is the second MVC foe ULM will see this season, as they lost to Valpo during the opening weekend. Ariana Brown leads the Warhawks with 44 kills, while Logan Jeffus has 33.
Austin Peay went 2-1 during the opening weekend of play, defeating Florida A&M and UAB while falling to Buffalo. The Governors were led by Elizabeth Wheat, who tallied 34 kills across three matches. APSU's setter duo of Maggi Duyos and Kelsey Mead combined for 100 assists.
Lindenwood opened its season by going 2-1 at the Chicago Classic, defeating Oakland and St. Thomas (Minn.) before falling to fellow Valley school UIC. Addy McAleer leads a balanced Lions attack with 37 kills, while Rebecca Janke and Nyah Wilson both have more than 30 kills.
Series History
Friday's meeting between Indiana State and UL-Monroe will be the first-ever matchup between the Sycamores and Warhawks. Indiana State's last match against a Sun Belt opponent came in 2017 against Coastal Carolina.
Indiana State and Austin Peay have split the four previous meetings between the schools, though Austin Peay is 2-0 in neutral-site matches against the Sycamores. The programs last met in 2021, a five-set win for the Trees in Terre Haute.
Indiana State has never faced Lindenwood prior to Saturday's meeting The Sycamores' last match against an OVC opponent came in 2021, when Indiana State won both ends of a home-and-home series against Eastern Illinois and also defeated Austin Peay in the Governors' final season as an OVC member.
Up Next
Indiana State plays in its final non-conference tournament September 8-9 when it faces Morehead State, Butler and Northern Kentucky at the Comfort Inn-Vitational in Morehead, Kentucky.
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
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