ISU Volleyball

Oct. 25, 2005
Volleyball
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SYCAMORES HIT HOME STRETCH WITH MATCHES AGAINST SIU & EVANSVILLE

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State will play five of its last seven matches of the season at ISU Arena, beginning this weekend with matchups against Southern Illinois (7-13, 4-7) and Evansville (7-18, 2-9). The Sycamores dropped 3-0 decisions to both the Salukis and the Purple Aces earlier in the year on the road. However, ISU has had some success at home against the two foes in recent years as the Sycamores have won six of the past eight matchups. The Salukis are just one game behind Creighton, who sits in the sixth and final spot for the MVC Tournament. ISU will try and halt a three-game losing streak to the Purple Aces over the past two seasons.

Wall of Sycamores
• Indiana State posted 11 blocks against Drake Friday, marking a season-high for a four-game match. The Sycamores were led by freshman Christy Trame who posted a season-best nine blocks, while senior Sarah Smith recorded a career-high eight blocks. Indiana State also tied a season-high with seven service aces in the match.

Trame Leads the Way
• Trame led the Sycamores in kills and blocks in both matches over the weekend as she posted 4.0 kills per game and 2.0 blocks per game. Trame recorded 15 kills and set a season-high with nine blocks against Drake and followed up that performance with a team-high 13 kills and five blocks against Creighton. Trame’s 14 blocks moved her into second place on the ISU freshman records list with 90 blocks this year. She is also fourth with 22 block solos among all Sycamore freshman.

Double Trouble
• The Sycamores recorded two double-doubles against Drake. Alisha Polite tallied a career-high 14 kills with 21 assists and Katie Freeman recorded the second double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs. Christy Trame was one block away from the third different version of a double-double as she tallied 15 kills and nine blocks.

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 10 of the last 11 matches and has added 2.0 kills per game in the last seven matches, including a career-high 14 kills at Drake (Oct. 21).

Scouting Report
Southern Illinois Salukis (7-13, 4-7 MVC)
• SIU is under the direction of first-year head coach Brenda Winkeler, who came to the Salukis after a successful tenure at Eastern Illinois. The Salukis have won two of their last four matches and play SE Missouri tonight. SIU uses a balanced attack as five players average over 2.0 kills per game, with Johannah Yutzy leading the way with 2.97 per game.
Evansville Purple Aces (7-18, 2-9 MVC)
• Evansville has dropped six of seven matches since defeating ISU a month ago, with the only win coming over Drake at home. The Aces are in there third year under head coach Mike Swan, who has compiled a 27-59 record in his tenure. UE will be looking for its second sweep over the Sycamores in the last two seasons, but only the fourth in 24 years of the series. Senior Lacy Haller leads UE with 3.07 kills per game and a .251 attack percentage. Like the Sycamores, UE has also used two setters this season, Katie Kincaid and Elaine Walroth.

Wolf Attack
• Tessa Wolf leads the Sycamores with 2.74 kills per game and a .174 attack percentage, including her 12th match with double-digit kills against Creighton. She has the top three kill totals for the Sycamores this season and has led the Sycamores in kills 10 times. Last weekend, Wolf went over 200 kills in a season for the first time in her career and now has 203 this year.

Cox is Diggin’ It
• Kristy Cox is already making an impact on the ISU record book. Cox has 291 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 16 matches, including a team-best 18 at Creighton (Oct. 22). 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.

Pollard Stepping Up
• Meghan Pollard averaged 5.14 digs per game over the weekend as she posted dig totals of 19 and 17 against Drake and Creighton, respectively. The two totals marked the second- and third-highest dig marks for Pollard this season. Earlier this year, Pollard recorded 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.

Up Next
• The Sycamores will make their final road trip of the regular season next week as they head to Northern Iowa (14-8, 8-3 MVC) and Bradley (12-11, 7-4 MVC). ISU took Bradley to five games when the Braves visited ISU Arena in the first half of the MVC season, but dropped a 3-0 decision to UNI.