NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Indiana State volleyball dropped their final match of the weekend in three sets (19-25, 14-25, 14-25) at Belmont. The Sycamores return home to continue conference play on Tuesday, October 14 versus Evansville.
 
The Sycamores were led by Ava Robart tallying eight kills, and Avery Hales contributed 14 assists. Chloe Gilly led the defense with nine digs, with Kimora Whetstone adding in three block assists.
 
Set 1 | Belmont 25, Indiana State 19
The match began very even, with the first 14 points having six ties. Through much of that, the Sycamores were able to maintain the lead until two timely kills by the Bruins gave them a one-point lead at 7-6. The Trees attempted to regain control, however errors on the attack by the Trees and kills by the Bruins gave Belmont the 15-8 edge to cap off a 8-1 run midway through the set. Despite a block by Ella Scott and Hadley Hardersen, the Sycamores struggled to string points together and lost the opening set by six after a Bruins ace.
 
Set 2 | Belmont 25, Indiana State 14
The Sycamores opened set two, losing the first two points before kills by Ella Scott and Kira Holland brought some life back to the Trees. Through the next 20 points, there would be six ties and four lead changes as both teams were looking to put the ball away off the attack. However, after a Bruin block, the Sycamores fell to an eight-point deficit, 19-11, caused by a 7-0 Bruin run. This lead proved to be too large for the Trees to come back from, and they dropped the second set by 11 points.
 
Set 3 | Belmont 25, Indiana State 14
It was now or never for the Trees if they wanted a chance to sweep Belmont this season. Much like the first two sets, the third started no differently. Both teams were playing very even, with the score seeing two ties and two lead changes. However, three straight kills from the Bruins gave them the early three-point edge at 8-5. An Ella Scott kill gave the Trees the ball back, but Sycamores were never able to score more than two points in a row, making a comeback much more difficult. This did not stop the Trees from battling back to get within four. Indiana State trailed only 18-14 in the set, forcing a Bruin timeout. Belmont came out of the timeout to score seven unanswered points to end the match, with four of the last five points being aced on the Trees.  
 
News and Notes:

• For the third-straight weekend, the Sycamores split their games. Indiana State has strung together consecutive wins this season twice: three wins in a 3-0 weekend at the Tiger Invitational; winning vs. Belmont and at Southern Illinois (September 26, October 3).
• This was the second-lowest hitting percentage for the Sycamores of the season at .100.
• At just 26 kills and 32 digs, this was the fewest kills and digs scored all season.
• Belmont served the most aces at 14 to the Sycamores this season.
• Kira Holland was held to single-digit kills for just the third time this season, the first since September 26.
• Chloe Gilley was held to single-digit digs for the sixth time this season, and the first since September 18.

 
Up Next
The Sycamores return to action at home to continue conference play versus Evansville on Tuesday, October 14.

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.