TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State picked up its second consecutive win over an in-state foe Tuesday evening, dispatching of visiting Evansville in three sets (25-16, 25-17, 25-23) inside ISU Arena.
The Sycamores' sweep was their first home win of the season, and also gave head coach
Ted Kopacz his first home win at the helm of the program. Indiana State also snapped a two-match losing streak to Evansville in the process.
Kira Holland led the Sycamore attack with nine kills and eight digs, while both middle blockers went error-free on the evening as
Lily Mueller added nine kills and
Ella Scott tacked on seven. Scott added five blocks for the Blue and White, while
Macy Lengacher led all players with 13 digs.
Hadley Hardersen dished out 31 assists in the win.
Set 1 | Indiana State 25, Evansville 16
Indiana State wasted no time jumping out to a lead, with kills from Scott, Knuth and Mueller powering an early run for the Sycamores. Three straight errors from the visitors, the last coming courtesy of a block from Hardersen and Scott, extended the Sycamore lead to 11-4, with
Corinne Knapp tacking on an ace to add to Indiana State's significant lead. Kills from Knuth and Hardersen pushed the advantage to double-digits, while the Trees took advantage of Evansville errors to close out a 25-16 opening set win.
Set 2 | Indiana State 25, Evansville 17
After a back-and-forth start to set two, the Sycamores finally broke through near the midway point. Knapp put down two kills and an ace, while teaming up with Scott for a block as the Trees went on a 6-2 run to pull ahead 13-9. The Purple Aces pulled back within a pair, but two quick kills from Mueller and one from Hardersen widened the Sycamore lead back to four. Similar to the first set, errors plagued Evansville down the stretch, as the Purple Aces committed three attack errors and a service error in a six-point span to increase Indiana State's advantage to 22-14. Kills from Hardersen and Holland finished off a 25-17 second set win for the Sycamores.
Set 3 | Indiana State 25, Evansville 23
Kills from Knapp and
Taylor Knuth, along with an ace from Hardersen, got things started for the Sycamores in the third set. Mueller continued her strong outing with a pair of kills, while Holland and Knapp added to the attacking onslaught as Indiana State pulled ahead by a pair. Another ace from Hardersen, paired with a kill and a block from Scott, put Indiana State ahead 15-11 at the midway point, but Evansville battled back. The Purple Aces pulled within two, but kills from Holland, Knapp and Hardersen kept the home side in front down the stretch. Evansville fended off a pair of set points, but Holland sent the Sycamore faithful home victorious with a kill to seal a 25-23 third set win.
News and Notes
- Indiana State's sweep was its first during conference play since Oct. 21, 2024, also against Evansville at home. The Trees' last three-set win overall came August 29 against Green Bay.
- Indiana State snapped a two-match losing streak to Evansville, while also improving to 50-39 all-time against the Purple Aces.
- Ted Kopacz also picked up his first home win as Indiana State head coach.
- Indiana State won earned back-to-back conference wins for the first time since Sept. 27 and Oct. 3, 2025, when the Sycamores defeated Belmont and Southern Illinois.
- Indiana State's middle blocker tandem combined to hit an error-free .667 (16-0-24) for the match, with Lily Mueller hitting .600 (9-0-15) and Ella Scott hitting .778 (7-0-9).
- Indiana State limited Evansville to a .129 hitting percentage (28-17-85) in Tuesday's match, tied with Green Bay for the lowest mark by a Sycamore opponent this season.
- The Sycamores also hit a season-best .363 (44-11-91), hitting above .300 in a match for the first time since Sept. 27, 2025 against Belmont.
- The .363 hitting percentage is Indiana State's best in a match since hitting .431 at Tennessee State on Sept. 18, 2025. It also marks the Sycamores' best hitting percentage in a conference match since Oct. 17, 2015, when the Trees hit .387 against Evansville.
- Indiana State's 11 attack errors are also a season low for a match, and the fewest by the Sycamores since Sept. 18, 2025 at Tennessee State.
- Evansville's 28 kills are the fewest by a Sycamore opponent since Tennessee State tallied just 25 kills on Sept. 18 2025.
- Macy Lengacher's 13 digs in Tuesday's match put her at 982 for her career. The senior libero currently sits 18 digs shy of becoming the 12th player in program history to record 1,000 career digs, and the first since the 2020-21 season.
- Indiana State finished with a statistical advantage in kills (44-28), assists (39-28), digs (33-31), aces (6-4) and blocks (5-3) in Tuesday's match.
- Tuesday's win was the Sycamores' first this season that did not come on a Friday or Saturday.
Up Next
Indiana State's four-match homestand continues Friday night, as the Sycamores play host to league-leading Northern Iowa for a 6 p.m. first serve inside ISU Arena. Friday's match is Volloween, with fans highly encouraged to come dressed in costumes for a chance to win a $50 gift card.
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on the Sycamore Volleyball team, make sure to check out
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