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ISU volleyball loses in NIVC, but still completes best season since '82

todd golden, the tribune-star, terre haute, ind.
·4 min read

Dec. 3—Win or lose on Thursday, Indiana State volleyball was going to finish with its best season since 1982.

That is, in itself, an accomplishment given that the Sycamores have struggled mightily to get over the .500 mark for years now.

On Thursday, ISU got its first-ever postseason opportunity, a berth in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. ISU faced Toledo, and though the Sycamores fell-from-ahead in a 3-2 loss to the Rockets at Valparaiso's Athletics-Recreation Center, it doesn't take away the fact that ISU volleyball is finally on the map.

"It's a big deal. I don't know if the team or the coaches really process how big of a deal it is to have a winning season," ISU coach Lindsay Allman said. "This whole team is coming back. There's some future success there as long as we continue to train and get better."

The most encouraging thing about the Sycamores, apart from an 18-13 finishing record, is that every player is scheduled to return for the 2022 season. Allman's group is young, and getting a taste of postseason experience should only make the team hungrier.

"We want to stay hungry and know we're playing for something bigger than what today brings," ISU libero Melina Tedrow said.

Allman, who took over the ISU program in 2017, is especially proud that the progression has been made by this group. COVID-19 has seriously disrupted not only seasons, but off-seasons.

"None of these girls, besides Melina, have ever had a spring, so I haven't been able to train and develop their skill like we'd like to. We've had to survive. They've been learning by fire and doing a nice job. I'm looking forward to develop their individual skills which will help continue to have success," Allman said.

Tedrow said that Allman has built the roster the right way.

"It goes back to the coaching change and Sherard [Clinkscales, ISU Director of Athletics] bringing on Lindsay. I'm really thankful for Indiana State to play together and play for a university like this," Tedrow said. "Lindsay does a nice job of knowing the game and the type of player she brings in and the mindset she has in practice to bring a level of competition shows through."

In the match, Mallory Keller led ISU with 40 kills. Karinna Gall added 28. Terre Haute's Chloe Mason led the way with 23 assists. Emma Kaelin added 19. Tedrow had 15 digs. Toledo (20-12) was paced by Taylor Alt's 34 kills.

For a time? It appeared that ISU's season would live beyond Thursday.

The Sycamores dominated the first set. A 6-0 run, fueled by service from Ashley Eck and outside hitting by Gall and Jamie Brown, put ISU up 9-5. The Sycamores never really looked back. Toledo failed to get within less than three for the rest of the set as ISU cruised to a 25-12 victory.

The second set was rockier for the Sycamores. Toledo broke away from a 17-all deadlock as it scored five of six, including three kills in a row by Olivia Vance. The Rockets rode that gap for a bit, and though ISU tied the match at 24, the Rockets scored the final two points, clinching set two with a kill by Alt.

The initiative went back to ISU in set three. Returning to the near error-free play of the first set, ISU overcame an early 11-8 deficit to score the next 10 points out of 15 available. The 19-16 lead ISU built was not eroded by the Rockets. Riding a wave of Storm Suhre's outside hitting and steady setting by Tedrow, ISU cruised to a 25-22 set win.

The fourth set was where trouble set in for the Sycamores. Toledo dominated via serving by Elaine Redman to start. The Rockets had four aces among their first 10 points. ISU never recovered. The Sycamores never got closer than a six-point deficit as the Rockets tied the match with a 25-18 victory.

The fifth set was all Toledo. The Rockets had kills on five of their first six points as ISU's defense faded. The Rockets won the deciding set 15-5.

"They showed some resiliency. They kept swinging at our block," Tedrow said.

A telling stat? ISU's attack stats dropped in every set. From 83% in the first set to 35% by the last. Conversely, Toledo's attack improved from 40% to 100% by set five.

"I liked how we played in set one, two and three. Set four and five? When you're in a deciding set, we can't let mistakes happen. They made nice adjustments and they had some heavy hitters that kept swinging," Allman said.