ISU Volleyball

Oct. 18, 2005
Volleyball
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SYCAMORES BEGIN SECOND HALF OF MVC SEASON AT DRAKE AND CREIGHTON

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State begins the second half of the Missouri Valley Conference season this weekend with road trips to Drake and Creighton. The Sycamores dropped 3-0 decisions to both the Bulldogs and Bluejays earlier in the year at ISU Arena. However, ISU has had some success on this road swing in recent years. The Sycamores have won five straight matches over Drake at the Knapp Center and swept the trip with wins at Creighton in 2000, 2002 and 2003. Drake will be looking for its second victory in conference action, while Creighton is trying to maintain its position in the top six of the standings to secure a MVC tournament berth. The Bluejays have won four of their last five matches, with its only loss at No. 1 Nebraska.

Wall of Sycamores
• Indiana State out blocked IPFW, 11-9, last Sunday (Oct. 16). It is the fourth time this season the Sycamores have recorded more blocks than their opponent and the third time they have recorded double-digit blocks in a match. Senior Tessa Wolf posted a career-high six blocks in the match, while Christy Trame recorded three solo blocks and two block assists. Trame leads the MVC with 21 solo blocks on the year and ranks ninth in the MVC averaging 1.15 blocks per game.

Wolf Attack
• Tessa Wolf led Indiana State in kills for the weekend, including her 11th match with double-digit kills against Illinois State. She has six of the top eight kill totals for the Sycamores this season and has led the Sycamores in kills 10 times, including five of the last seven matches. Wolf leads the Sycamores with 2.82 kills per game and a .192 attack percentage. She has already posted a career-best 189 kills this season.

Balanced Attack
• Indiana State used a balanced attack against IPFW as seven players tallied at least four kills, while Christy Trame led the Sycamores with eight put-a-ways.

Polite-ly Excellent
• Freshman Alisha Polite has excelled since taking over the setter’s role for the Sycamores at the beginning of conference action. Polite has topped ISU in assists in each of the last 10 matches and has added 1.8 kills per game in the last five matches. She also recorded all three of the Sycamore aces over the weekend and posted a career-high nine digs at IPFW.

Scouting Report
Creighton Bluejays (10-10, 4-5)
• Creighton has won four of its last five matches, with its only loss coming at No. 1 Nebraska. The Bluejays have climbed back into playoff position with a 4-5 conference record, after beginning the year with five losses in their first six MVC contests. CU is still looking for its first MVC home win as it is 0-4 in the Omaha Civic Auditorium and 4-1 on the road. Preseason All-MVC selection Leah Ratzlaff leads the Bluejays with 4.59 kills and a .262 attack percentage on the season. She also topped CU in the first match against ISU with 18 kills on just 25 swings.
Drake Bulldogs (2-19, 1-8)
• Drake has two wins for new head coach Amy Farber Knowles, including her first win at Drake over the Sycamores. The Bulldogs also earned a victory over North Dakota State. Junior Megan Veltman leads DU with 3.58 kills per game and a .221 attack percentage. She is also averaging 4.35 kills per game in MVC action, which ranks third in the league.

Trame Trumping Opponents
• Trame moved into fifth place on the ISU freshman records list with 76 blocks on the season. She is also tied for fourth with 21 block solos among all Sycamore freshman. Trame recorded five blocks against IPFW, including three solo blocks, after she posted a career-high eight blocks against Bradley.

Cox is Diggin’ It
• Kristy Cox is already making an impact on the ISU record book. Cox has 262 digs on the season, which moved her into fifth on the ISU freshman records list (pg. 6). She has also led the team in digs in 15 matches. Earlier in the year, Cox tallied a season-best 26 digs against Eastern Illinois, setting an ISU freshman record and marking the third most digs in a three-game match in ISU history.

Setting It Up
• Tera Fish and Alisha Polite each recorded double-digit assist totals against both Creighton and Drake. It is the first time the Sycamores have had two players with 10+ assist totals in a match since the 2002 season.

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 2.82 digs per game, while also posting 1.69 kills per game. She has stepped up her play in conference action as she is second on the team with 1.83 kills per game.

Pollard Stepping Up
• Meghan Pollard posted a career-high 28 digs against Bradley. The total is a season-high for the Sycamores and ranks as the 12th best total all-time at Indiana State. Pollard led the Sycamores in digs in four straight matches after accomplishing the feat just one time in the first 14 matches.

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.

Up Next
• After two straight weekends on the road, the Sycamores return to ISU Arena for MVC matchups against Southern Illinois (6-12, 3-6) on Friday and Evansville (7-16, 2-7) on Saturday.