FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Entering Friday on a four-match losing streak, Indiana State was in search of a spark. A variety of lineup changes seemed to do the trick for the Sycamores, who went 2-0 on the opening day of the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational.
Indiana State took down Stonehill in four sets (25-23, 19-25, 28-26, 26-24) to open the day before storming back to reverse sweep Columbia in five sets (17-25, 25-27, 25-23, 29-27, 15-11), pulling the Sycamores' record back to .500 in the process.
Kira Holland and
Curry Kendall tallied double-digit kills in both ends of the Friday twinbill for the Trees, as the Sycamore duo combined for 70 kills across the two matches.
Avery Hales dished out 94 assists across the two wins, including a career-high 55 in the reverse sweep of Columbia, with the Sycamore setter also registering a career-best 20 digs against Stonehill.
Sydney King made her collegiate debut Friday, finishing with 16 kills on a .378 hitting percentage in the two wins.
MATCH 1: INDIANA STATE 3, STONEHILL 1
Set 1 | Indiana State 25, Stonehill 23
After starting slow, Indiana State pulled in front by the midway point courtesy of three kills from Kendall in a four-point span. Stonehill even just past the media timeout, before kills from King and Holland keyed a 5-1 Sycamore run to put Indiana State back in control. Kills from Holland,
Corinne Knapp and Kendall finished off the set for the Blue and White, who took the opener 25-23.
Set 2 | Stonehill 25, Indiana State 19
Indiana State struggled out of the gate, as Stonehill used an 8-0 run to build a lead it never relinquished in the set. The Skyhawks extended their lead to as big as 18-10 before kills from Kendall and Holland momentarily stopped the bleeding. Late kills from Knapp and
Taylor Knuth weren't enough for the Trees, as Stonehill claimed the set 25-19.
Set 3 | Indiana State 28, Stonehill 26
Kendall put down three straight kills to give the Sycamores an early boost in the set. Five straight errors from the Sycamores put Stonehill in front, though, as the Sycamores faced a four-point deficit at the media timeout. Kendall and Holland each put down a pair of kills to spark a rally to tie the set, but Stonehill used a run of its own to pull back in front. Indiana State fended off a pair of set points late before a Stonehill error and a Kendall kill, her ninth of the set, gave the Trees the third by a 28-26 margin.
Set 4 | Indiana State 26, Stonehill 24
Indiana State built an early two-point cushion in the set off a pair of kills from Holland, but Stonehill had a response and tied the set at 8-apiece. The Sycamores took advantage of Stonehill errors to build a four-point lead at the media timeout following an
Ella Scott kill, but Stonehill never backed down.
Macy Lengacher served an ace to push Indiana State's lead to three late in the set, but three straight points from the Skyhawks evened the set at 21. Kills from Kendall and Knuth put the Trees on match point, with Knuth finishing off the match with a kill to give the Sycamores a 26-24 win to snap their losing streak.
MATCH 2: INDIANA STATE 3, COLUMBIA 2
Set 1 | Columbia 25, Indiana State 17
Indiana State started slow with Columbia building an early 5-1 lead, but the Trees recovered to even the set following a block from King and Holland along with an ace from Knapp. Kills from
Lily Mueller and Kendall kept the Trees on pace with the Lions, but a 5-1 run for Columbia put the Trees in a 21-14 hole. Columbia scored four of the last five points in the set to claim the opener 25-17.
Set 2 | Columbia 27, Indiana State 25
Neither team led by more than a point through the opening stages of the set, until Indiana State errors allowed Columbia to build a 13-10 lead. Two kills from Holland leveled the score midway through, with Lengacher dropping in an ace to put Indiana State ahead. A pair of kills from King kept Indiana State in front late in the set, with Holland and Kendall adding kills to push the scores past 25. Columbia took advantage of late errors, though, and extended its lead to 2-0 by winning the second set 27-25.
Set 3 | Indiana State 25, Columbia 23
Kills from Kendall and Knapp had the Blue and White off to a quick start, with the latter adding an ace to keep Indiana State ahead. Columbia rattled off a 6-0 run to go ahead 14-9, but Indiana State never backed down. Mueller and Kendall teamed up for a block to pull the Trees within a pair, while Knapp added two kills to keep the Sycamores on pace with the Lions. Back-to-back blocks late in the set, combined with an ace from King, gave Indiana State a lead it didn't relinquish. Hales and Holland finished off the set with kills, as Indiana State extended the match with a 25-23 win.
Set 4 | Indiana State 29, Columbia 27
Similar to the second set, neither team was able to build momentum until kills from Mueller and Kendall put Indiana State ahead 12-10. Kendall put down another kill to keep the Trees in front at the media timeout, with Holland adding one to push the lead out to 20-17. Kills from Holland and Mueller had the Sycamores ahead 23-21, but a kill and consecutive Indiana State errors gave Columbia match point. Indiana State fought off a pair of Columbia match points, with back-to-back kills from Mueller clinching the set 29-27 for the Trees and sending the match to a winner-take-all fifth set.
Set 5 | Indiana State 15, Columbia 11
Holland came out firing on all cylinders to start the fifth with three kills in the first six points. Kills from both middle blockers, Mueller and King, kept the Trees ahead by a pair, with Columbia errors doubling the Indiana State lead to 8-4. Columbia pulled within a point and forced a Sycamore timeout, but kills from Kendall and King fueled a four-point Indiana State run to take control of the match. Holland put down a pair of late kills to keep the lead a three for the Trees, while Kendall polished off the reverse sweep with a kill to give the Blue and White a 15-11 win in the decider.
News and Notes
- Sydney King made her collegiate debut by starting both matches of Friday's doubleheader, finishing with 16 kills on a .378 hitting percentage across the two matches (6-1-13 vs. Stonehill, 10-1-24 vs. Columbia).
- Avery Hales notched a pair of career-best totals in the doubleheader sweep for the Sycamores with 20 digs against Stonehill and 55 assists against Columbia.
- Hales' 55-assist match against Columbia was the first by a Sycamore since Oct. 27, 2018, when Melina Tedrow also notched 55 assists against Bradley.
- Corinne Knapp recorded her two highest single-match kill totals of her career Friday, notching a career-high 12 kills against Columbia and adding nine kills against Stonehill.
- Kira Holland has tallied double-digit kills in each of the last five matches and also recorded her fourth and fifth double-doubles of the season in the doubleheader sweep.
- Indiana State improved to 3-2 in five-set matches this season, with the Sycamores' five five-setters already matching their entire 2025 season total.
- Indiana State's reverse sweep against Columbia was the program's first since Sept. 10, 2021 against Western Michigan (18-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-21, 16-14).
- Indiana State finished with a commanding advantage in kills against both Stonehill (61-43) and Columbia (74-54), with the Blue and White holding an advantage in kils in eight of their first 10 matches this season.
- Indiana State had four different players – Kira Holland (18), Curry Kendall (17), Corinne Knapp (12) and Sydney King (10) – notch double-digit kills against Columbia, marking the second time this season that four Sycamores had double-digit kills in the same match (Aug. 28 vs. Navy).
- Indiana State improved to 5-1 in neutral site matches this season, with the Sycamores' five neutral site wins being their most in a season since 1997. The Sycamores' .833 win percentage in neutral site matches is also the best by the program since 1998 (4-0).
- Friday's matches marked the first-ever meetings for Indiana State against Stonehill and Columbia. The Sycamores improved to 4-1 against first-time opponents this season.
Up Next
Indiana State closes its non-conference slate Saturday at 2 p.m. against Purdue Fort Wayne. The winner of that match will claim the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational title, after both the Sycamores and Mastodons went 2-0 on Friday.
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