MURRAY, Ky. – Indiana State found itself in a familiar situation Saturday evening after dropping two of the first three sets inside Racer Arena. The Sycamores dug deep when it mattered most, though, overcoming their deficit to defeat Murray State in five sets (19-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-18, 15-11) on the road.
Curry Kendall had a major impact for the Blue and White with 19 kills, 12 digs, six aces and three blocks, recording career highs in kills and aces and a season high in digs.
Corinne Knapp led the Trees with a career-high 21 kills, her first career 20-kill match, while
Kira Holland notched her second straight double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs.
Also recording a double-double for the Trees was
Avery Hales with 48 assists and 10 digs, with the 48 assists being her most in a conference match in her career. The Trees were effective from the service line throughout, as four Sycamores recorded multiple aces in the match
Set 1 | Murray State 25, Indiana State 19
Murray State raced out to a 6-1 lead and controlled the first set, despite five kills from Holland in the frame. The Racers led by as many as nine in the set, but two kills apiece from Knapp, Holland and
Lily Mueller pulled Indiana State within four late in the set at 23-19. Indiana State's early deficit was too much to overcome, though, as the Racers claimed the opening set 25-19.
Set 2 | Indiana State 25, Murray State 21
Kendall had the hot hand early in set two with three kills out of Indiana State's first four points. The junior right side then caught fire from the line with a trio of service aces, with Mueller and Holland tacking on kills to put the Sycamores up 11-6. Indiana State maintained its multi-point advantage throughout, with Knapp tacking on a service ace to make it 20-15 late in the set. Murray State attempted to rally late, but a pair of late kills from Knapp polished off at 25-21 second set win for the Sycamores.
Set 3 | Murray State 25, Indiana State 23
Indiana State wasn't able to fully carry its momentum into the early stages of the third set, with Murray State taking a 9-6 lead before kills from Knapp and Holland whittled down the deficit to a point. Mueller and Kendall kept the Trees within one, but Murray State used a run out of the media timeout to take a four-point lead. Kills from Hales and Kendall pulled the Blue and White within a pair, and Kendall later served another ace to bring the Trees within a point, but Murray State withstood the late Sycamore charge to claim the third set 25-23.
Set 4 | Indiana State 25, Murray State 18
It was all Sycamores to start set four, with three kills from Knapp and an ace from Hales helping the Trees jump out to an early 5-1 lead. Murray State rallied back to go in front midway through the set, but the Sycamores put together a big run of their own out of the media timeout. Kills from Knapp and Mueller, along with an ace from Holland, keyed a 6-0 Sycamore run which saw the Trees go in front 20-15. Murray State pulled within three late in the set, but Kendall ensured that this match would go the distance with three straight kills to secure a 25-18 fourth set win for the Sycamores.
Set 5 | Indiana State 15, Murray State 11
Indiana State's momentum carried into the deciding set, with Knapp and Kendall quickly putting down kills to get things started. Two more kills from Holland, along with aces from Kendall and Holland, helped Indiana State break the set open with a 5-1 run to go in front 9-4. Indiana State kept its foot on the gas pedal with a pair of kills from Knapp, with Holland and Kendall tacking on kills of their own to push the Trees to match point. The home side fended off Indiana State's first three match points, but Mueller and Holland sealed the Sycamores' first conference win of the season with a block, giving the Trees a 15-11 match-clinching win in the fifth.
News and Notes
- Saturday's win was Indiana State head coach Ted Kopacz's first MVC win at the helm of the Sycamores.
- Indiana State's win was its second straight five-set win over Murray State at Racer Arena. Prior to 2025, the Sycamores had never won in Murray.
- Indiana State's 70 kills in Saturday's match were its most in a conference match since Nov. 16, 2012 against Evansville (73).
- The Sycamores also had a 77-kill performance against Valparaiso on Sept. 19, 2015, but Valpo was a member of the Horizon League at the time of that match.
- Corinne Knapp's 21 kills in Saturday's match were a career high, and also represented the most kills by a Sycamore in a match this season.
- Knapp had never recorded more than 13 kills in a match prior to Saturday. 10 of her 21 kills came in the last two sets, where she hit .643 (10-1-14).
- Curry Kendall tied her career high of 19 kills, set a career high with six aces and set a season high with 12 digs in Saturday's match. Saturday's performance also marked her first double-double of the season.
- Kendall's six aces are tied for ninth in a single match in program history, and rank third in program history for matches during the 25-point rally scoring era.
- Like Knapp, Kendall also played a pivotal role down the stretch with a .600 hitting percentage across sets four and five (10-1-15).
- Lily Mueller's nine kills in Saturday's match tied a season high and also marked a career high against a conference foe.
- Indiana State improved to 4-2 in five-set matches with Saturday's win, with the Sycamores' six five-set matches being the program's most in a season since 2021 (also six). The Sycamores' last season with more than six five-set matches was 2017 (eight).
- Indiana State finished with more kills (70-56), assists (56-46), digs (60-59) and aces (13-6) than Murray State in Saturday's match.
Up Next
Indiana State's three-match road trip concludes Friday night with a 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) first serve at Illinois State.
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