Nashville, Tenn. – Indiana State volleyball took a 3-0 sweep on Sept. 18-19 at the Tiger Invitational, hosted by Tennessee State. The Sycamores move to 6-6 on the season before the start of conference play.
 
Indiana State opened play with a win versus TSU (25-14, 25-12, 25-18) on Thursday. On Friday, they closed with two big wins versus Idaho (22-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-23) and Chattanooga (18-25, 27-25, 25-14, 25-27, 15-13).
 
Match One: Indiana State 3, Tennessee State 0
Set 1 | Indiana State 25, Tennessee State 14
The Sycamores opened the set with a kill by Ella Scott; however, Tennessee State quickly bounced back. In the first half of the set, it was back and forth with kills on both sides.
A kill by Emily Weber and several strong serves from Ava Robart began to build the Sycamores' lead. The Trees and Tigers were going two-for-one in points before a 7-1 run led by kills from Kira Holland and Ava Robart extended Indiana State's lead before taking the set 25-14. Indiana State ended the set on five-straight kills. The Sycamores came out hitting a 0.372% with Ava Robart hitting a 0.636%.
 
Set 2 | Indiana State 25, Tennessee State 12
Building on the momentum of the first set, the Sycamores opened with a kill by Kira Holland. Tennessee State attempted to get its offense going; however, the Sycamores' offense kept pace. An early 5-1 run on the back of errors from TSU gave the Trees all the edge needed to hold for the rest of the set. The Sycamores went on to score three-to-four points for every point that the Tigers were able to score. Capped off with a kill by Kimora Whetstone, the Sycamores were looking to put the match away. The Sycamores improved their offense, hitting a 0.429% and recorded a total of eight blocks.
 
Set 3 | Indiana State 25, Tennessee State 18
With the match on the line, the Sycamores bounced back from a service error with a Curry Kendall kill. The Tigers battled to keep this set within reach. The duo of Ava Robart and Kira Holland had the hot hands and continued to put the ball away. A 14-5 run for the Sycamores on the backs of kills by Ava Robart, Ella Soctt, Curry Kendall, and Kimora Whetstone allowed them to build an eight-point lead late into the set. This proved too difficult for the Tigers to bounce back from, and a kill by Kira Holland closed the deal for the Trees. The Sycamores finished their impressive hitting match with a .425% with Curry Kendall hitting .600%.
 
Match Two: Indiana State 3, Idaho 1
Set 1 | Idaho 25, Indiana State 22
The Sycamores didn't come out as hot as the first match but still held pace with Idaho through the early stages of the first set. The early part of the set was back and forth, with neither team earning more than two points in a row. It was not until Idaho went on a 6-0 run to take a 17-10 lead that the Trees ultimately could not recover from, but came close bringing the set within two, 24-22.
 
Set 2 | Indiana State 25, Idaho 14
An early 7-2 lead for the Trees came from two back-to-back kills by Ava Robart and Curry Kendall, which made the difference in the set as the closest margin from here was only four points. Idaho tried to fight back, but the Trees exploded to take a 10-point, 17-7 lead, with contributions from Emily Weber, Kira Holland, Curry Kendall, and Ella Scott.
 
Set 3 | Indiana State 25, Idaho 20
The Sycamores carried their momentum into set three, going on an early 4-1 lead thanks to kills by Ava Robart and Ella Scott. The Vandals quickly tied the set at four apiece before battling point for point for a majority of the set. It was not until a late ace by Ava Robart that gave the Sycamores a three-point, 19-16 lead. Idaho attempted to battle back, but kills from Robart, Kira Holland, and Scott late in the set helped send the Sycamores into the fourth with a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Set 4 | Indiana State 25, Idaho 23
With the match on the line, both teams came out looking to win and continued the back-and-forth match trend. The Vandals took control, jumping ahead 16-10 from three-straight Sycamore attack errors. After a quick timeout, the Trees ignited and battled all the way back. After Idaho went ahead 19-12, Indiana State closed the match with a 13-4 run to secure the victory. Kills by A block from Ella Scott and Emily Weber, plus an error by Idaho, brought the Sycamores within two, 19-17. Indiana State took the late lead from a kill by Ava Robart, an ace by Kira Holland, and a kill by Curry Kendall.
 
Match Three: Indiana State 3, Chattanooga 2
Set 1 | Chattanooga 25, Indiana State 18
The Sycamores found themselves down quickly, falling to an early 7-1 deficit to Chattanooga. Multiple Sycamores found ways to score moving through the set, eventually cutting into the lead and trailing only 14-12 following a kill by Curry Kendall. That small deficit didn't last long, as the Mocs jumped ahead 20-14 mostly from recording kills. UTC in set one hit at a .469 clip compared to the Sycamores at .178.
 
Set 2 | Indiana State 27, Chattanooga 25
In set two, both teams were trading runs of two-to-three points, keeping the score close much of the set, with neither team having a lead larger than 3 points at a time. The largest lead came at 14-10 in favor of the Trees following a pair of UTC errors and an Ava Robart kill, but that was erased after a kill from the Mocs and three-straight attack errors by Indiana State. The set remained close the rest of the way. Being tied 25-25, back-to-back kills by Ella Scott and Curry Kendall led the Sycamores to the set win.
 
Set 3 | Indiana State 25, Chattanooga 14
The trend continued to hold true – early in the set, neither team could take an advantage. Finally, it was Indiana State that sparked the first run of the set and took control with a 17-9 lead following kills by Ella Scott, Curry Kendall, and Kimora Whetstone, only for Ella Scott to record a pair of aces. An ace by Avery Hales and kills from Holland put the nail in the coffin for the set, but it was Indiana State's hitting that proved the main difference. The Sycamores hit .630 in the set without a single attack error.
 
Set 4 | Chattanooga 26, Indiana State 24
The Sycamores' momentum from set three carried into set four, but it didn't last. UTC slowly took the momentum, taking a 15-10 lead midway through the set. The Sycamores battled closely, tying the match at 17-17 with an ace by Avery Hales, a kill by Curry Kendall, and a big block by Kendall and Ella Scott. The match remained tight the rest of the way, but the difference in the set were three kills by the Mocs and two attack errors by Indiana State.
 
Set 5 | Indiana State 15, Chattanooga 13
The start of the set was all Chattanooga. Two attack errors by Indiana State and an UTC kill put them up 4-1, and eventually that grew to a 7-3 lead in the shortened fifth set. That lead held, despite all efforts by Indiana State, until the score reached 12-10. The Sycamores took over. Three-straight kills from Kira Holland, Ella Scott, and Holland again gave Indiana State the lead. Finally, back-to-back kills from Holland sent the Sycamores to the 3-2, five-setter victory and clinched the undefeated tournament in Nashville.
 
Tournament News & Notes

• Indiana State secured its first undefeated tournament since September 2021 and its first under head coach Ashlee Pritchard.
• The Sycamores with three wins moved to six wins on the season, the most dating back to the 2021 season.
• Indiana State averaged hitting .324 as a team over the three games compared to the opponents at .229.
• There were 76 kills recorded in the Chattanooga match, tying for sixth in program history in a single game.
  • This marks the highest kill total since the 2015 Sycamores recorded 77 against Valparaiso in 2015.
• In the same match, Indiana State recorded 71 assists, tying for fourth in the program (November 2012).
• The 91 digs are the most of the season, but Indiana State finished with 97 in last season's finale against Evansville (November 2024).
• Kira Holland:
  • She recorded her first 20-20 game of her career, setting highs in both kills (22) and digs (21) against Chattanooga.
    • The 20-20 game marked both the first 20-20 game in the program and most kills in a match since October 2022.
  • With double-doubles in the Idaho and Chattanooga matches, she is up to four on the year and 12 in her career.
  • She continued her streak of double-digit kills in each match except the season opener.
• Ava Robart:
  • She recorded double-digit kills in each match, swinging at a .327 clip.
  • Robart set highs in kills (19) and digs (15) against Chattanooga. It was her first match with 10-plus digs.
• Ella Scott:
  • Scott notched a season-high 15 kills against Idaho, finishing with a .452 hitting percentage.
  • With four aces in the Chattanooga match, she is up to eight three-plus-ace matches in her career.
• Kimora Whetstone
  • Whetstone finished each match hitting above .430, averaging .500 on the weekend while recording eight blocks.
  • She tied her career high in kills with 13 against Chattanooga.
• Chloe Gilley
  • Gilley recorded her second match of the season with 20-plus digs, finishing with 21 against Idaho, tying her career high.
  • She tied her career high in assists with six against Chattanooga.
• Avery Hales
  • Hales shattered her season high in assists (previously 19) with 32 against Idaho. It's the most since 2023 in her freshman season when she recorded 35 in the season finale.
  • It's her 11th 30-plus assist match of her career.
• Emily Weber
  • Weber recorded her second 30-plus-assist match of the season with 36 against Chattanooga.
  • It's her 14th 30-plus assist match of her career.

 
Up Next
Indiana State opens conference play at home with Illinois State on Friday, Sept. 26 at 6 p.m., followed by Belmont on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 5 p.m.
 
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