TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State closes its three-match road trip Friday night with a 7 p.m. first serv eat Illinois State, before the Sycamores welcome Drake to ISU Arena for a Saturday evening Homecoming bout at 6 p.m.
 
Friday's match at Illinois State will be aired on ESPN+.
 
Last Time Out
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
 
Curry Kendall and Kira Holland led all players with 11 kills Friday night, but four Belmont players hit above .350 to lift the homestanding Bruins past Indiana State in three sets (25-17, 25-14, 25-20) inside the Curb Event Center. Holland added 14 digs to complete her sixth double-double of the season, while Kendall also tallied eight digs. Macy Lengacher led all players with a season-high 22 digs, while Avery Hales dished out 31 assists.
 
Serve's Up
Indiana State registered a season-high 12 service aces in its five-set win over Murray State, with four different Sycamores recording multiple aces against the Racers. Curry Kendall led the way for the Blue and White with six aces, a mark which ranks in the top 10 for a single match in program history, while Avery Hales, Kira Holland and Corinne Knapp tallied two aces each in the win.
 
Saturday's match at Murray State marked the third time this season that the Trees had at least three players record multiple aces in the same match (Missouri State, Milwaukee), while the 12 service aces were the most in a match for the Sycamores since recording 13 aces against Merrimack on September 6, 2025.
 
Can You Dig It?
Indiana State senior Macy Lengacher stepped into the familiar role of being the Sycamores' primary libero during the Blue and White's recent road trip to Belmont and Murray State, and the veteran defensive specialist responded by averaging 4.50 digs per set across the two matches with the Bruins and Racers.
 
Lengacher tallied her fourth career 20-dig match in the opener of the current three-match road trip, with her 22 digs at Belmont also being the most by a Sycamore in a match this season. She also added 14 digs in Indiana State's comeback win over Murray State, with the first two matches of the current three-match road trip producing her two highest dig totals of the season.
 
Heavy Hitters
Indiana State had a pair of athletes set or match career highs in kills during its five-set win over Murray State, as Corinne Knapp notched 21 kills against the Racers while Curry Kendall tallied 19 in the Sycamores' comeback victory. Knapp had never recorded more than 13 kills in a match prior to Saturday's showing, where she also hit .316 (21-9-38), as the Sycamore sophomore became the first person on the team with a 20-kill match this season. Nearly half of Knapp's damage came when it mattered most, as she hit .643 (10-1-14) over the last two sets.
 
Kendall produced one of the best all-around stat lines by a Sycamore this season with 19 kills, 13 digs, six aces and three blocks in the win. Kendall's 19 kills matched her season high, which she previously set against Stonehill, and marked the fourth 19-kill match of her career. Her 13 digs were a season high, while the six aces were a career high and also ranked in the top 10 in program history for a single match. Similar to Knapp, Kendall also played a pivotal role down the stretch for the Sycamores with a .600 hitting percentage (10-1-15) across sets four and five.
 
Call It A Comeback
Indiana State's first conference win of the 2026 season came in comeback fashion, as the Sycamores rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Murray State in five sets on the road. The Sycamores limited Murray State to a .125 hitting percentage (10-5-40) in the fourth set and came out firing with a .348 hitting percentage (11-3-23) in the fifth set.
 
The Sycamores are no strangers to comeback wins in five sets this season, with three of their four five-set wins coming after facing a 2-1 deficit. Included in that figure is the Sycamores' reverse sweep over Columbia at the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational. Longer matches have favored the Sycamores this season, with Indiana State sporting a 6-4 record across four and five-set matches.
 
This Weekend's Opponents At A Glance
Illinois State enters Friday's match at 12-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play after sweeping Bradley in its last match. Jillian Ferrill leads the Redbirds with 2.61 kills per set, while Ruth Ziegler's 0.58 aces per set rank among the nation's best.
 
Drake enters the weekend at 7-9 overall and 2-2 in conference play, with the Bulldogs facing Northern Iowa on Thursday before traveling to Terre Haute. Lisa Melenciano leads the Bulldogs with 3.10 kills per set, while Jasmine Dulan averages an MVC-best 5.41 digs per set.
 
Series History vs. This Weekend's Opponents
Indiana State is 10-72 against Illinois State, with a 2-39 mark in Normal. The Redbirds have won eight straight in the series, though the Sycamores' last win came in five sets in Normal during the 2021 season.
 
Indiana State is 30-47 against Drake, including a 17-21 mark in Terre Haute. Drake has won six straight in the series, with Indiana State's last wins in the series being a season sweep in the 2021 campaign.
 
Up Next
Indiana State has another home-away split weekend on deck, traveling to Bradley for a 7 p.m. match on Oct. 15 before hosting Illinois State for a 5 p.m. match on Oct. 17.

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