DES MOINES, Iowa – Macy Lengacher tallied a season-high 20 digs and Curry Kendall recorded 12 kills Friday night, but visiting Indiana State fell to Drake in a three-set battle (25-21, 25-22, 25-16) inside the Knapp Center.
 
Emma Kaelin (seven kills, 12 digs) and Kira Holland (six kills, 10 digs) combined for 13 killa while each notching double-digit digs, and Emily Weber dished out 30 assists for the Sycamores.
 
Indiana State got early kills from Holland and Kendall to jumpstart its attack in the first set, but Drake took advantage of Sycamore errors to go in front by three. Ella Scott, Kendall and Kaelin tallied kills to even the score at 10-all, with a pair of kills from Weber putting the Trees ahead. Holland and Kaelin kept the Sycamores on top past the midway point of the set with kills, but Drake came back to take a narrow 19-18 lead. Despite late kills from Kaelin and Holland, Drake held on to take the opening set 25-21.
 
Kendall started the Sycamore attack in set two with a kill, and Holland added back-to-back net-clip aces to give the Trees an early lead. Two more kills from Kendall , along with an ace from Kaelin and a pair of attack errors for Drake, saw Indiana State's early lead extend to 8-4. Drake worked its way back to go in front by a point, but Indiana State responded with a block assist from Kaelin and Lily Mueller. Kills from Kendall, Scott and Weber kept it a one-point set before a late Drake run saw the Sycamores trailing 22-17. Weber, Kendall and Mueller put down kills to pull the Trees within a point, but the home side withstood the Sycamore rally to take the second set 25-22.
 
Scott and Holland put down kills to start the third set, with Mueller adding a pair of her own to give Indiana State an early lead. Kendall and Scott tacked on kills, with Kaelin adding two more as the Sycamores maintained a 10-9 advantage. Indiana State kept things going with kills from Kaelin and Holland, but a 5-1 run for the home side saw the Sycamores facing a 17-13 deficit. The Sycamores got kills from Kendall and Scott to pull closer, but Drake closed out the match by taking the third set 25-16.
 
News and Notes

• Macy Lengacher's 20 digs were the most by a Sycamore this season and her most in a conference match in her career. It was Lengacher's second career match with 20-plus digs (30 at Lindenwood – Sept. 2, 2023).
• Curry Kendall has notched double-digit kills in each of the last four matches, the longest streak of her career. Kendall is averaging 4.27 kills per set during that span while hitting .308 across those four matches (64 kills-19 errors-146 attempts).
• Emily Weber averaged 10 assists per set, marking the third time in the last four matches that she averaged 10 or more assists per set.
• Indiana State had an advantage from the service line Friday night, with the Sycamores recording four aces compared to just one for Drake. Kira Holland had a season-high two aces against the Bulldogs.
• Lily Mueller continued her strong run of form, recording five kills on nine attempts. Mueller's hitting percentage in the last three matches is .264, which is more than double her hitting percentage for the season.

 
Up Next
Indiana State closes its two-match Iowa road trip Saturday night at league-leading Northern Iowa, with first serve set for 7 p.m.
 
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.