ISU Volleyball

Sept. 20, 2005
Volleyball
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SYCAMORES BEGIN HOME SCHEDULE THIS WEEKEND

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – After four straight weekends on the road to begin the season, Indiana State is looking forward to returning to ISU Arena this weekend for matches against Creighton and Drake. The MVC docket opened last weekend with the Sycamores dropping matches against the top two teams in the league, Missouri State and Wichita State. Creighton and Drake also dropped both of their first two conference matchups, increasing the significance of this weekend.

Keep It Rolling
• The Sycamores have had great success against Creighton and Drake under head coach Julie Krofcheck. Overall, the Sycamores are 7-1 against the two foes during the last two seasons, including a perfect 4-0 mark at home. It is the best record against any two schools in the league for Krofcheck.

FINALLY!!
• The Sycamores finally return to ISU Arena after playing the first 12 matches of the season on the road, the second longest streak without a home match to open a season in ISU history. The 1996 Sycamores had the longest streak as they played 16 times before hosting a match.

Home Sweet Home
• ISU Arena has provided a solid home court advantage for the Sycamores during the Krofcheck reign. ISU is 11-7 at home over the last two seasons in MVC contests, compared to 5-12 on the road. The Sycamores are 4-1 in their last five home openers, however, they dropped a 3-1 decision to Saint Louis last season in their first contest at ISU Arena.

Trame Trumping Opponents
• With a block solo against Wichita State on Saturday, Christy Trame moved into ninth place on the all-time ISU freshman list with 12 block solos (see freshman records, pg. 5). Trame’s season block solo total also leads the MVC this season. Overall, Trame is averaging a team-high 1.12 blocks per game.

Tough Start
• The Sycamores are off to a slow start to the 2005 season, but the schedule has not been easy. ISU has faced four squads that placed first in its respective conference last season, in addition to four matches against the Big Ten, SEC and ACC.

Scouting Report
Creighton Bluejays (5-6, 0-2)
• Creighton was picked to finish fifth in the preseason MVC coaches poll, but dropped its first two conference tests against Bradley and Northern Iowa at home last weekend. The Bluejays won the San Diego State Invitational earlier this season, and have faced the likes of No. 3 Stanford and No.17 Kansas State already this season. CU is led by preseason All-MVC pick, senior Leah Ratzleff, who is second in the league averaging 4.76 kills per game with a .246 attack percentage.
Drake Bulldogs (0-11, 0-2)
• Drake is seeking its first win of the season under new head coach Amy Farber Knowles. The Bulldogs finished at the bottom of the league last season after a 3-26 season and were picked 10th in the coaches poll at the start of 2005. Junior Megan Veltman leads DU with 3.08 kills per game and a .268 attack percentage.

Fresh Start
• Freshman Alisha Polite earned the starting nod against Wichita State marking the fourth freshmen, and fifth newcomer, this season to crack the starting lineup. In addition, Kristy Cox has been on the floor at the start of a match at the libero position, but liberos are not credited with official starts.

Cox is Diggin’ It
• Freshman Kristy Cox has taken over the role of libero and has shown she can handle the job. Cox ranks fifth in the MVC averaging 4.37 digs per game. She tallied 26 digs against Eastern Illinois, setting an ISU freshman record and marking the third most digs in a three-game match in ISU history. Cox played club volleyball with Municiana, which has a long history of producing excellent defensive players, including ISU’s record-setting libero from last season, Kelly Spisak.

Triple the Fun
• Junior Tera Fish posted a triple-double in just her fifth contest with the Sycamores after transferring to ISU from Dixie State College. Fish recorded 10 kills, 15 digs and 45 assists against Austin Peay with a .571 attack percentage. It is the second triple-double for the Sycamores in a span of 21 matches, as Kerri Byrum notched one last season against Bradley. Prior to Byrum, the feat had not been accomplished by a Sycamore in over four years.

Wolf Attack
• Senior Tessa Wolf is leading the Sycamores’ offensive attack this season. Wolf has posted double-digit kills in six matches, and has led the team in kills five times. She leads the Sycamores with 2.63 kills per game with a .182 attack percentage. She tallied 16 kills against Austin Peay, which is a single-match high for ISU this season and was named to the IU Credit Union All-Invitational team.

Freeman Does It All
• Senior Katie Freeman has continued her excellent play in several different aspects of the game. Freeman is second on the squad averaging 3.20 digs per game, while also posting 1.61 kills per game.

Large Footwear
• The 2005 squad has some big shoes to fill after the Sycamores lost six major contributors from last season. ISU lost over 70 percent of its kills, digs and blocks from a year ago and its starting setter, who accounted for 86 percent of its assists. In addition, the 2004 seniors won a total of 30 Missouri Valley Conference matches during their career, the most ever by a four-year Sycamore class.

Not Your Ordinary Smith
• Senior Sarah Smith hit the half-century mark earlier this season as she went over 500 kills for her career. Smith now has 521 kills in four seasons which is the most of any current Sycamore. She has also continued her efficient attacking style as she is leading the team with a .183 hitting percentage, while averaging 2.00 kills per game. Smith’s career .237 attack percentage ranks seventh on ISU’s all-time list.

Up Next
• ISU will be back on the road next weekend as they take on Evansville (5-8, 0-1) and Southern Illinois (3-6, 1-0) in MVC action. The Sycamores have been up and down against the two opponents since Krofcheck has been at the helm. ISU swept Evansville in Krofcheck’s first season of 2003, but dropped both contests to the Purple Aces last year. The Sycamores had the exact opposite results against SIU as they lost both times to the Salukis in 2003, but earned wins in both matches a year ago.