ISU Volleyball

Nov. 8, 2005
Volleyball
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SYCAMORES HOST RIVAL REDBIRDS ON FRIDAY

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State welcomes Illinois State to ISU Arena on Friday night for its only contest of the week. The Sycamores have won each of the last two meetings in Terre Haute and three of the last four at home. Illinois State is in second place in the MVC (12-3), but had its 12-match conference winning streak snapped last Saturday (Nov. 5) against Northern Iowa.

Wolf On Fire
• Senior Tessa Wolf was on fire this weekend as she led the Sycamore offensive attack against Northern Iowa and Bradley. Wolf registered a career-high 20 kills against the Braves on Saturday, which also set a new season-high for the Sycamores. She opened the weekend with 12 kills on 22 attempts and only one error for a .500 attack percentage, marking the second-highest total for a Sycamore this season with double-digit kills. For the weekend, she averaged 5.33 kills per game with a .455 attack percentage.

Trame Leads the Way
• Christy Trame has posted double-digit kill efforts in five of the Sycamores last six matches, including two over the weekend against UNI and Bradley. During that stretch she is averaging 3.6 kills per game and she recorded a season-best 18 kills against Southern Illinois with a .353 attack percentage. In addition, Trame leads the MVC with 25 block solos and has posted a team-high 1.17 blocks per game. She posted a team-best five block assists over the weekend giving her 76 on the season, which moves her into a tie for first on the Indiana State freshman records list with Kristin Widmar (2001).

Gone Fish-ing
• Junior Tera Fish regained her starting setter position and tallied 36 assists in three games against Bradley leading Indiana State to a season-best .241 attack percentage. Fish’s assist total was her highest since Sept. 10, and it was also the Sycamores best effort in a three-game match this season.

Pollard Stepping Up
• Meghan Pollard led the team in digs in both matches last weekend with totals of 11 and 15 against UNI and Bradley, respectively. She has led the Sycamores in five straight games and nine of the last 12. Pollard moved into second on the team in digs averaging 2.79 per game, but leads the team in MVC action with 3.47 digs per game. In the first matchup of the year against Bradley (Oct. 7), Pollard recorded a career-high 28 digs. The total is a season-high for the Sycamores and ranks as the 12th best total all-time at Indiana State.

Scouting Report
Illinois State Redbirds (16-9, 12-3 MVC)
• Illinois State suffered a 3-0 defeat at Northern Iowa last weekend, which snapped a 12-match conference winning streak. The Redbirds had gone over a month without a MVC loss and had jumped into second place in the league standings. Illinois State is now tied for second place with Missouri State and Northern Iowa with three losses. ISU has posted a 5-6 record on the road.
• Kari Staehlin leads Illinois State with 3.83 kills per game and a .350 attack percentage, which ranks fourth in the MVC. Erin Lindsey is a first-year setter for the Redbirds and has earned MVC Freshman of the Week honors four times. She is averaging 13.05 assists per game, which ranks third in the league.

Wolf Attack
• Tessa Wolf leads the Sycamores with 3.02 kills per game and a .204 attack percentage, including 16 matches with double-digit kills. She has led the team in kills in each of the last three games and in eight of the last 13 matches. Wolf has tallied a career-high 263 kills this year and has 494 kills for her career.

Cox is Diggin’ It
• Kristy Cox is making an impact on the ISU record book in her inaugural campaign. Cox has 324 digs on the season, which moves her into fourth place on the ISU freshman records list (pg. 6). She has also led the team in digs in 16 matches, and posted double-digit digs in 18 matches. Earlier this 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.

Freeman Does It All
• Senior Katie Freeman has continued her excellent play in several different aspects of the game. Freeman is third on the squad averaging 2.74 digs per game, while also posting 1.60 kills per game. Freeman is approaching 500 kills and 800 digs for her career, as she currently sits with 482 and 791, respectively.

Polite-ly Excellent
• Freshman Alisha Polite has excelled since seeing her playing time increase at the beginning of conference action. Polite has topped ISU in assists in 11 of the last 15 matches and has added 1.97 kills per game in the last nine matches, including a career-high 14 kills at Drake (Oct. 21). She also posted four kills in four attempts for a perfect 1.000 attack percentage against UNI on Friday (Nov. 4).

Up Next
• The Sycamores finish the season with a homestand against the top two teams in the league as No. 23 Wichita State (23-2, 14-0) and Missouri State (18-8, 11-3) visit ISU Arena next weekend. Both WSU and MSU earned 3-0 victories over the Sycamores at home earlier in the season.