TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – On a night where Indiana State recognized its four departing seniors and
Macy Lengacher reached 1,000 career digs, it was instead visiting Valparaiso which walked out of Hulman Center victorious in a thrilling five-set match (25-21, 19-25, 21-25, 25-22, 17-15) Friday night.
Lengacher, who was one of those four seniors recognized after the match, became the 12th player in program history to record 1,000 career digs and the first to accomplish the feat since the 2020-21 season, reaching the mark in the third set of the match. The Wakarusa, Indiana, native tied her season high with 22 digs in the contest
Kira Holland led the Sycamore attack with 18 kills and also added 18 digs, while
Curry Kendall added 14 digs.
Hadley Hardersen dished out 37 assists and tacked on 10 digs, while
Ella Scott added nine kills and four blocks.
Set 1 | Valparaiso 25, Indiana State 21
Two early kills from Holland got things started for the Sycamores, as the Trees and Beacons traded runs in the front portion of the set. Hardersen and Scott put Indiana State ahead with kills midway through, but a scoring run for the Beacons out of the media timeout saw the Trees down 18-15. An
Anna Ptacin kill and a
Corinne Knapp ace cut the deficit to one, but that was as close as the Sycamores got down the stretch as Valparaiso claimed the opener 25-21.
Set 2 | Indiana State 25, Valparaiso 19
Indiana State came out firing in the second with early kills from Holland and Kendall to go along with aces from Hardersen and Knapp. Valpo eventually went on a run to claim the lead, but the Trees answered back with kills from
Ava Robart, Kendall and Scott midway through the set. Scott tacked on a pair of block assists, teaming up with Holland and Kendall to put the Trees up 18-15, while fellow middle blocker
Lily Mueller paired with Hardersen and Holland on blocks to extend the advantage out to five. A late ace from Holland and kills from Robart and Kendall sealed a 25-19 second set win for the Sycamores.
Set 3 | Indiana State 25, Valparaiso 21
Indiana State's momentum carried into the early part of the third set with two kills from Robart and an ace from Scott. Kendall added a pair of aces of her own during a five-point run for the Blue and White, but Valpo used a run of its own to level the set midway through. Indiana State broke through with a 4-1 run, keyed by a pair of kills from Kendall, to pull ahead 18-14, and never trailed for the remainder of the set. A late run from Valpo cut the Sycamore lead to a pair, but Robart closed out the frame with a kill and an ace to give the Trees a 25-21 win in the third.
Set 4 | Valparaiso 25, Indiana State 22
Indiana State quickly jumped out to a 4-1 lead on the strength of two kills from Kendall, with the Tulsa native also serving a pair of aces during a later four-point run to give the Sycamores a 9-3 lead. Valparaiso had a run of its own, going on a 13-4 run to pull ahead 17-14. Kills from Holland, Scott and Kendall fueled a late Sycamore run to get Indiana State within a point, but the visitors forced a deciding set by taking the fourth 25-22.
Set 5 | Valparaiso 17, Indiana State 15
Another early ace from Kendall helped the Trees jump out to a 3-1 lead, but Valpo countered with a 4-0 run to pull ahead. The Beacons extended their lead out to four, despite kills from Scott and Holland, and had the Trees on the brink of defeat before Kendall went back to the service line once again. Two aces and a kill from Kendall flipped the script and had the Sycamores on match point, but Indiana State was unable to close the deal. Valparaiso scored three of the last four points to win the fifth set 17-15 and spoil the Sycamores' Senior Night.
News and Notes
- Indiana State recognized its outgoing senior class, consisting of middle blockers Ella Scott and Anna Ptacin, defensive specialist/libero Macy Lengacher and right side Taylor Knuth, in a post-match ceremony Friday.
- All four seniors were in the starting lineup for Friday's match, which gave Ptacin her first start of the season.
- Macy Lengacher became the 12th player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs and the first to accomplish the feat since the 2020-21 campaign.
- Indiana State finished Friday's match with 15 aces, the most in a single match by the Sycamores since October 5, 1993 against Chicago State.
- The Sycamores' 15 aces is tied for third in a match in program history and tied for the most in a conference match in program history.
- Curry Kendall's seven aces in Friday's match are tied for the most by a Sycamore in the 25-point rally scoring era and tied for third overall in a match in program history.
- Kendall is the only Sycamore in program history to record two matches with six or more aces in a season.
- Friday's match was the eighth five-set match the Sycamores have played in this season, with the Trees now 5-3 in matches that go the distance. It also marked Indiana State's first five-set loss since the home opener against Milwaukee on September 10.
Up Next
Indiana State closes the home portion of its 2026 schedule Saturday at 1 p.m. against Murray State inside ISU Arena.
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