EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Kira Holland led Indiana State with 17 kills Wednesday night, while Curry Kendall and Ella Scott had 13 and 12, respectively, as the Sycamores defeated Evansville in four sets (26-24, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23) inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
 
Kendall added 13 digs for the Trees, who had three players record double-doubles (Kendall, Emily Weber – 21 assists, 11 digs, Avery Hales – 20 assists, 13 digs) and five register double-digit digs (Chloe Gilley 20, Kendall 13, Hales 13, Emma Kaelin 13, Weber 11). Weber also added three aces and five blocks, while Scott had a career-high eight digs to go along with five blocks.
 
Evansville jumped out to an early lead in set one, but kills from Holland and Kaelin, alongside an ace from Scott and a block solo from Weber, got the Trees right back in the set. Kendall put the Sycamores in front with back-to-back kills, and Kaelin tacked on another to push the advantage out to 14-11 midway through. Kills from Kendall and Kaelni, aling with a block assist from Weber and Scott, kept the Sycamores in front late, but Evansville rallied back to force a set point of their own. Kendall put down a kill to fend off the set point, and Cadence Gilley served up an ace to close out a 26-24 first set win for the Sycamores.
 
Similar to set one, Evansville was the aggressor in jumping out to a 7-3 lead. In similar fashion, the Sycamores worked their way back, With three kills from Kendall and an ace from Weber knotting the score at eight. Evansville used another run to go back in front by five, before a pair of kills from Scott and a block assist from Scott and Weber whittled the deficit down to 15-13. Indiana State went on a major run late, with kills from Holland and Kendall along with two aces from Weber putting the Trees ahead 21-20, and Indiana State kept its late lead following another kill from Kendall. Evansville rallied to score the last thee points, though, taking the second set 25-23.
 
Evansville took an early lead in the third, but a pair of kills from Kendall alongside terminations from Holland and Josilyn Wadas gave the Sycamores a 7-5 advantage. Kills from Kaelin and Hales, along with a block assist from Scott and Weber saw that lead increase to 12-9, with the same duo teaming up for another block assist to keep the Trees in front midway through. Back-to-back kills from Holland, along with another ace from Scott, put the Sycamores ahead by six late, with kills from Holland and Kendall making it 22-16 Trees. Evansville rallied late, but a kill from Scott and a Purple Ace error gave the Sycamores set three by a 25-21 margin.
 
Indiana State took full advantage of Evansville errors in building a 10-2 lead in set four, with Scott also putting down three kills during that span. Three more kills from Holland helped the Sycamores keep their foot on the gas, with Kaelin ad Hales adding kills to make it 16-8 Indiana State. Scott put down two more kills as Indiana State built up its lead to 20-12, but Evansville came roaring back with a 10-2 run to tie the set at 22-all. Holland put down a kill and teamed up with Wadas on a block assist to put the Trees on the verge of an elusive home win at 24-22. Evansville fended off one set point, but Holland closed out the match with a kill to give the Sycamores set four by a 25-23 margin and end Indiana State's MVC road losing streak.
 
News and Notes

• Kira Holland's 17 kills were her most in a match this season and marked her first match with double-digit kills since returning from injury.
• Indiana State averaged a season-best 24.0 digs per set, finishing with 96 digs in Wednesday's four-set match.
• Chloe Gilley became the second Sycamore to record 20 digs in a match this season, alongside Macy Lengacher.
• Indiana State ended its season on a high notes, as the Sycamores' 59 kills were their most in a match this season.
• Defense has been an issue for long stretches this season, but Evansville was limited to a paltry .143 hitting percentage in Wednesday's match.
• Wednesday's match was the second this season in which Indiana State had five players record 10 or more digs, with the Sycamores also accomplishing the feat on Oct. 19 against Southern Illinois.
• Indiana State snapped a 26-match road conference losing streak which dated back to the tail end of the 2021 season.
• Indiana State closes its 2024 season at 5-25 overall and 2-16 in MVC play. Both conference wins this season came over Evansville, snapping a five-match losing streak to the Purple Aces in the process.

 
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.