TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State volleyball continues its busy week on the court Friday and Saturday with a trio of matches at the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational.
 
The Sycamores will face St. Francis (Pa.) (11 a.m.) and Eastern Michigan (4:30 p.m.) on Friday, with a single match against Purdue Fort Wayne Saturday at 11 a.m. All three matches will be carried on ESPN+.
 
Last Time Out
Indiana State had five different players notch seven or more kills Wednesday night, but Indiana State fell two points short against IU-Indianapolis in an agonizing five-set match (20-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18, 15-13).
 
Jadyn Smith led the Sycamores with 11 kills, while Ella Scott added nine kills, five blocks and two aces. Hannah Baudin had eight kills, while Emma Kaelin and Curry Kendall tallied seven kills apiece. Emily Weber finished with 34 assists and a season-high five blocks, while Anna Ptacin led all players with six blocks. Macy Lengacher recorded a match-high 19 digs.
 
Set One Success
Indiana State has opened its last four matches on a high note, taking the first set in all three matches of the Bluff City Showdown and in Wednesday's midweek match at IU-Indianapolis.
 
The Sycamores claimed the opening set in their matches against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (25-13), Lamar (25-20) and Memphis (25-19), marking the first time this season that the Sycamores took the opening set in a match. Indiana State followed that with a 25-20 first set in Wednesday night against IU-Indianapolis.
 
Prior to last weekend, the last time Indiana State took the opening set in three straight matches was in November 2021 against Drake (25-17), Missouri State (27-25), Southern Illinois (28-26) and Bradley (25-19).
 
Top-Tier Trees
Indiana State had a pair of athletes earn all-tournament honors at the Bluff City Showdown, as Emma Kaelin and Emily Weber were among the best in the four-team field over the weekend in Memphis.
 
Kaelin averaged 4.18 kills and 2.45 digs per set for the Sycamores in 11 sets played, representing the best attacking weekend of her career. She set a career-high with 16 kills against both Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Lamar, and also added 10 digs against Arkansas-Pine Bluff to record her 20th career double-double.
 
Weber averaged 9.18 assists per set running the Sycamores' offense, including a season-high 41-assist outing in the win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. She also had 35 assists in the Trees' three-set win over Lamar, and added 16 digs and five blocks from the defensive side for the weekend.
 
Strength In Numbers
Indiana State's midweek match at IU-Indianapolis featured a balanced attack, with five different players notching seven or more kills against the Jaguars.
 
Jadyn Smith led the way with 11 kills for Indiana State, marking her third match with double-digit kills in the last five matches. Ella Scott had nine kills on a team-high .300 hitting percentage, while Hannah Baudin had eight kills for the Blue and White. Emma Kaelin and Curry Kendall tallied seven kills apiece, with Kendall's all coming in the last two sets.
 
Topping The Charts
Indiana State has been one of the best teams in the nation when it comes to service aces this season. The Sycamores enter the weekend match ranked in the top 25 nationally in aces per set with 2.09, and have averaged more than two aces per set in each of their first three weekends of play.
 
Indiana State's 2.09 aces per set rank first in the MVC, while the Sycamores' 73 total aces rank second in the conference and inside the top 25 nationally. In addition, Ella Scott leads the MVC with 0.54 aces per set, a mark which ranks in the top 40 nationally.
 
Scott isn't the only Sycamore who has seen success from the service line this season. Indiana State already has four players with double-digit service aces this year (Ella Scott – 19, Cadence Gilley – 12, Emma Kaelin – 11, Emmy Sher – 11), with two others recording five or more aces this year (Emily Weber – nine, Macy Lengacher – six).
 
Access Denied
Indiana State registered a season-high 13 blocks in Wednesday's match against IU-Indianapolis, with three different Sycamores recording five or more rejections.
 
Anna Ptacin more than doubled her season output with a career-best six blocks, while Ella Scott and Emily Weber had five blocks each. Scott's blocking output was her third match with five or more blocks this season, while Weber's five blocks represented a season high for the Sycamore newcomer.
 
Indiana State's 2.60 blocks per set in Wednesday's match marked the second time in the last three matches that the Trees averaged more than 2.50 blocks per set.
 
This Weekend's Opponents At A Glance
St. Francis enters the weekend at 3-6 following an 0-3 weekend at Oakland. The Red Flash is one of the few teams in the nation with more aces per set than Indiana State, averaging 2.48 per set. Maggie Hogan leads SFU with 107 kills, while Alexandra Sappia and Emma Fenton both average more than four assists per set.
 
Eastern Michigan comes into the weekend at 4-7 after going 2-1 last weekend at Morehead State and falling to Michigan State in a midweek match. The Eagles are one of the top blocking teams Indiana State has seen this season, averaging more than 2.6 per set. EMU's attack is balanced, with Kaili Doctor (118 kills), Kendal Bonney (99) and Ava Siefke (88) all averaging at least two kills per set. Hatteras Welker and Angel Baylark both average more than one block per set, while Hannah Blaney has 162 digs.
 
Purdue Fort Wayne enters the weekend with a 4-6 record following a midweek loss to Michigan State. The Mastodons went 1-2 last weekend at Valparaiso. Purdue Fort Wayne's attack runs through reigning Horizon League Freshman and Offensive Player of the Year Panna Ratkai, who averages 4.67 kills per set. Abby Stratford adds more than two kills per set for the Mastodons, while former Evansville setter Taya Haffner averages nearly nine assists per set. LonDynn Betts leads the team with 170 digs.
 
Series History vs. This Weekend's Opponents
Indiana State is 2-0 all-time against St. Francis (Pa.), with both previous meetings coming at neutral sites. The last match between the Sycamores and Red Flash came during the 2010 season.
 
Indiana State is 4-1 against Eastern Michigan, and has won each of the last three meetings in the series. The Sycamores and Eagles last faced off during the 2021 season in Charleston, S.C., with Indiana State winning in four sets.
 
Purdue Fort Wayne has a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series against Indiana State, though the Sycamores have won the last two meetings. Indiana State won in three sets in the last meeting in 2018, which was in Fort Wayne.
 
Up Next
Regular season volleyball returns to Hulman Center for the first time since 2007 when the Sycamores open MVC play September 27-28 against UIC and Valparaiso.

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