TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State volleyball heads north for a two-match weekend road trip starting with a Friday night contest at UIC in the Windy City. The Sycamores will also face Valparaiso Saturday evening.
 
Both matches are set for a 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) first serve and will be aired on ESPN+.
 
Last Time Out
Kira Holland became the 13th player in Indiana State history to eclipse 1,000 career kills Saturday evening, but visiting Illinois State spoiled the celebrations by defeating the Sycamores in four sets (25-15, 25-17, 23-25, 25-18) inside ISU Arena. Holland led the Sycamores with 13 kills on the evening, giving her 1,001 for her career. She became just the third player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills while playing in the 25-point rally scoring era, and the first to accomplish the feat since 2016. Lily Mueller and Curry Kendall added eight kills each for the Trees, with Mueller hitting an efficient .500 for the match. Macy Lengacher added 17 digs from the libero spot, while Ella Scott tallied a match-high five blocks.
 
Ava Robart led all players with 14 kills Thursday evening, but Bradley rallied in each of the last two sets to slip past Indiana State in four sets (25-15, 22-25, 25-21, 25-17) inside Renaissance Coliseum. Kira Holland inched closer to 1,000 career kills, finishing with 12 kills and 14 digs, with the Sycamore senior pulling within 12 kills of the milestone mark. Avery Hales dished out 41 assists and added 11 digs for a double-double, while Macy Lengacher led the Blue and White with 17 digs.
 
Welcome To The Club
Indiana State senior outside hitter Kira Holland made program history in the Sycamores' last match against Illinois State, becoming the 13th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career kills. Holland became the first Sycamore since 2016 to reach 1,000 career kills, and just the third Indiana State player during the 25-point rally scoring era to accomplish the feat.
 
Holland has a strong chance of cracking the top 10 in program history for career kills, as the Medina, Ohio, native currently sits 13 kills shy of reaching Julie Kovacs (1987-90), who ranks 10th all-time with 1,014 kills. Holland has tallied double-digit kills in each of the Sycamores' last seven matches and 12 of the last 14 contests for the Trees.
 
Block Party
Indiana State senior middle blocker Ella Scott became the 10th player in program history to reach 300 career blocks during the Sycamores' last conference weekend against Bradley and Illinois State, with the Plainfield, Indiana, native currently sitting on 309 total blocks for her career. Scott also climbed to seventh in program history with 269 block assists for her career.
 
Similar to Holland, Scott also has a possibility of moving further up the program ranks during the Sycamores' upcoming road trip. She needs six block assists to crack the top five in program history, and six total blocks to move up to ninth in program history.
 
Milestone Watch
Indiana State has plenty of athletes nearing career milestones entering conference play. In addition to moving up the ranks for career blocks, Ella Scott is currently five aces shy of reaching 100 for her career, while sitting 12 aces shy of reaching the top 10 in program history.
 
Macy Lengacher is also nearing 1,000 digs for her career, as the senior enters the weekend with 952. Lengacher's dig totals have steadily increased in recent weeks, as she has averaged just shy of three digs per set since the start of conference play. Should she accomplish the feat, Lengacher would become the 12th Sycamore to reach 1,000 career digs.
 
Avery Hales could also join the list of Sycamores to reach major milestones during the 2026 season, with the senior setter amassing 1,684 assists for her career through the opening weekend of conference play. Hales needs 316 assists to become the 11th player in program history with 2,000 career assists, and the first Sycamore in nearly a decade to surpass 2,000 career assists. Similar to Lengacher, her numbers have picked up in conference play, where she ranks fourth with 9.00 assists per set.
 
Crunch Time
At the halfway point of the conference schedule, Indiana State sits three games out of a conference tournament spot. The positive sign for the Sycamores comes in the fact that they have played the majority of their matches against the top teams in the conference thus far.
 
Of Indiana State's eight remaining matches, six come against teams that are currently outside of the conference tournament field, while one additional match is against the team currently occupying the final spot in the field.
 
This Weekend's Opponents At A Glance
UIC enters Friday's match at 8-12 overall and 4-4 in conference play. The Flames had won four straight before falling to Northern Iowa in their last match. Three different Flames – Emma Colombari, Gabi Peter and Tamara Kisic – average more than two kills per set, while Robyn Ward and Maryam Hussein both average more than one block per set.
 
Valparaiso enters the weekend at 11-9 overall and 3-5 in conference play after back-to-back losses on the road to Northern Iowa and Drake. Ava Helming and Jordyn Gove lead the Beacon attack, with both averaging more than three kills per set and ranking in the top five in the MVC in kills. Maggie Uhwat also ranks among the conference leaders with 32 aces this season.
 
Series History vs. This Weekend's Opponents
Indiana State is 3-9 all-time against UIC, with the Flames winning four of the five matchups since joining the MVC. The Sycamores' last win in the series came in 2023, while the Trees have never beaten UIC on the road.
 
Indiana State is 17-20 against Valparaiso, though the Beacons have controlled the series in recent years by winning 11 of the last 12. The Sycamores are 7-9 all-time in Valparaiso, with the Trees' last win in the series coming in 2021.
 
Up Next
Indiana State begins a four-match homestand Tuesday evening with its Blackout Cancer match against Evansville. The Sycamores also play host to Northern Iowa for their Volloween match October 30.

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