KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, IND. ? The final weekend of volleyball has arrived for Indiana State University with two more chances for the Sycamores to close out the season on a positive note. ISU will entertain the Missouri State Bears on Friday and will conclude the regular season on Saturday by hosting the Wichita State Shockers. Both games begin at 7 p.m. (ET) in the ISU Arena.
Saturday's game will be the final appearance of their ISU careers for five Sycamore seniors: Whitney Fromm (Snohomish, Wash.), Kristen Kerscher (Toledo, Ohio), Jodilynne Stoker (Ames, Iowa), Stephanie Volden (McFarland, Wis.), and Kelli Whitaker (New Palestine, Ind.). These five have formed the nucleus of Indiana State's rebuilding effort over the past four seasons.
Fromm has keyed the Sycamore offense as a setter since first stepping onto the court in a Sycamore uniform. She currently ranks third in ISU history in career assists with 2,914, moving past Annette Runge (2,882 from 1988 to 1991) last week with 38 assists at Illinois State. She recorded the ninth best single season assist total last season with 1,100 assists. Fromm also ranks in the top 15 in career digs with 820.
Kerscher has been an offensive threat from the right side since she arrived on the Indiana State campus, playing in 29 of ISU's 30 games during her freshman year, 25 of 26 games as a sophomore, and 28 of 31 games as a junior. She is averaging 1.38 kills per set from the right side with 126 career blocks and 244 career digs.
Another dominant offensive threat from that Class of 2006 is Stoker, an outside hitter that is nearing a milestone that few volleyball players reach in their collegiate careers. Stoker enters the final two games of the season with 984 kills, needing just 16 kills this weekend to record her 1,000th career kill, a mark accomplished only nine times in Indiana State history. She currently ranks 10th in career kills and also ranks fourth in career total attacks with 3,413. Stoker posted the seventh best single season of total attacks in 2008 with 1,138.
Volden has been a blocking specialist for the Sycamores during her four years at Indiana State. The senior currently ranks eighth in career solo blocks (69), eighth in career block assists (203), and seventh in career total blocks (272). She has played in all but one game during her career.
The senior front line rounds out with another outside hitter in Whitaker who set the freshman record for kills per set at 3.11 during her initial campaign with the Sycamores. She currently has 749 career kills and 89 career blocks. Her court presence, work in the classroom, and involvement in the community were honored in 2008 by the Missouri Valley Conference as became the first ISU volleyball player to receive the MVC State Farm Good Neighbor Award.
Live Stats Information
Live stats and video for all Indiana State home volleyball games are available through the Indiana State web site http://www.gosycamores.com.
Scouting Indiana State
The Indiana State Sycamores enter this week's games ninth in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 3-13 record in the Valley and a 7-23 mark overall. The Sycamores concluded the road portion of their 2009 schedule last Thursday with a 3-1 loss at Illinois State.
Senior Jodilynne Stoker leads Indiana State in kills with 271 this season, an average of 2.79 kills per set. She is 10th on the ISU career kills list with 984 kills (2.53 kills per set). The senior is also fourth on the ISU career total attack list with 3,413 attacks.
Sophomore Stacy Qualizza is second on the team in kills with 216 this season (2.16 kills per set) and leads the team in hitting percentage at .243. Two other Sycamores are averaging over two kills per set including junior Ana Maira Charun with 208 kills this season (2.45 kps) and senior Kelli Whitaker 96 kills (2.04 kps).
Senior Whitney Fromm leads ISU in assists with 847 this season (8.07 assists per set) which ranks 219th in the nation. Fromm is third on the ISU career assist list with 2,914 (7.90 assists per set). Megan Mirs (1998-2001) leads the ISU career list with 5,137 assists with Kerri Byrum (2002-2004) second with 3,018 assists.
Sophomore Kiya James leads the Sycamores in digs with 496 this season (4.72 digs per set) which ranks her 55th in the nation. She currently ranks fourth on the single-season all-time dig list with two games left. Kelly Spisak had the best single-season in digs with 595 during the 2004 campaign while 2008 ISU graduate Kristy Cox had 545 last year and 525 during the 2006 season.
Senior Stephanie Volden paces ISU in blocks with 0.60 per set, ranking eighth in career solo blocks (69), eighth in career block assists (204), and seventh in total blocks (273).
The Sycamores are averaging 11.60 kills per set overall (11.98 kps in league play) while hitting at .173 (.157 in league play). ISU is also averaging 10.82 assists per set (11.12 in league play), 14.71 digs per set (16.07 in league play), and 1.47 blocks per set (1.43 in league play). Indiana State is ranked 277th nationally in aces per set (0.98), 233rd in assists per set (10.81), 274th in blocks per set (1.47), 149th in digs per set (14.71), 248th in hitting percentage (0.173), 245th in kills per set (11.60), and 292nd in won-loss percentage (0.233).
Scouting Missouri State
The Missouri State Bears have a 19-9 record overall and a 12-4 mark in league play as they travel to Terre Haute, Ind., to take on the Sycamores Friday. However, the Bears are just 4-6 on the road. Missouri State split a pair of home games last weekend as they lost to 22nd ranked Northern Iowa 3-0 (21-25, 21-25, 16-25) on Friday and came back on Saturday to defeat Bradley 3-0 (25-16, 25-9, 25-14).
Several of the Bears are nationally ranked including Calli Norman, a 6-foot-1 sophomore middle hitter, who is ranked 18th in the nation in hitting percentage (0.377), 228th in the nation in kills per set (3.13), 239th in blocks per set (0.9) and 202nd in points per set (3.69). Kelly Michnowicz, a 6-foot-2 sophomore right side hitter, ranks 173rd in the nation in hitting percentage (0.303). Cara Hackmann, a 6-foot-0 junior middle blocker/outside hitter, ranks fourth in the nation in digs per set (5.80) while Melissa Gmur, a 5-foot-9 junior setter, ranks 183rd in assists per set (8.71) and 196th in aces per set (0.31).
The Bears are averaging 13.30 kills per set overall (13.95 kps in league play) while hitting at 0.234 (0.237 in league play). Missouri State is also averaging 12.26 assists per set (12.84 in league play), 16.91 digs per set (18.62 in league play), and 2.35 blocks per set (2.24 in league play). The Bears are ranked 236th nationally in aces per set (1.07), 80th in assists per set (12.26), 56th in blocks per set (2.35), 29th in digs per set (16.91), 69th in hitting percentage (0.234), 77th in kills per set (13.30), and 74th in won-loss percentage (0.679).
Scouting Wichita State
The Wichita State Shockers have a 21-5 record overall and a 12-4 mark in league play as they travel visit Illinois State on Friday and then head to Terre Haute, Ind., to take on the Sycamores Saturday. Wichita State split a pair of home games last weekend as they swept Bradley 3-0 (25-20, 25-8, 25-12) on Friday and they fell to 22nd ranked Northern Iowa in five sets 3-2 (15-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 9-15) on Saturday.
Several of the Shockers are nationally ranked including Emily Stockman, a 6-foot-0 senior outside hitter is 116th in the nation in aces per set (0.34), 213th in digs per set (3.74), 54th in kills per set (3.93), and 44th in points per set (4.58). Mary Elizabeth Hooper, a 5-foot-10 sophomore setter, is ranked 26th in the nation in assists per set (11.10). Sarah McGee, a 6-foot-3 junior middle blocker, is ranked 49th in blocks per set (1.21) and 39th in hitting percentage (0.358). Melissa Granville, a 5-foot-8 senior libero, ranks 93rd in digs per set (4.40)
The Shockers are averaging 13.54 kills per set overall (14.03 kps in league play) while hitting at 0.247 (0.245 in league play). Missouri State is also averaging 12.72 assists per set (13.29 in league play), 16.96 digs per set (18.48 in league play), and 2.71 blocks per set (2.60 in league play). The Shockers are ranked 97th nationally in aces per set (1.37), 46th in assists per set (12.72), 19th in blocks per set (2.71), 27th in digs per set (16.96), 40th in hitting percentage (0.247), 55th in kills per set (13.54), and 25th in won-loss percentage (0.808).
The Coaches
Traci Dahl (Long Beach State, 1996) is in her second year as the head coach of the Indiana State Sycamores with a 15-46 record which is also her career mark. Dahl was an assistant at Cal State Fullerton and at Hofstra before accepting the job at Indiana State. As a player, Dahl was an All-American middle blocker and a member of Long Beach State's 1993 national championship team.
Missouri State head coach Melissa Stokes (San Diego State, 1991) is 312-144 in her 14th season at Missouri State. She guided Missouri State to the 2003 MVC regular season title and the 2005 MVC tournament championship. Stokes came to Missouri State from the University of Idaho where she helped the Vandals to four straight NCAA Tournament berths. As a setter at San Diego State, Stokes played four seasons and helped the Aztecs to two NCAA appearances. She ranks 36th among active Division I coaches in winning percentage entering 2009.
Wichita State's Chris Lamb is 214-91 in his 10th season at Wichita State. Under his guidance, the Shockers have recorded seven straight 20-win seasons. The Shockers have also won four MVC titles in the past six seasons. Before taking the reigns of the Shocker program, Lamb was an assistant women's volleyball coach at the University of Arizona and also served as an assistant coach St. Mary's College in Moraga, Calif.
Series History vs. Missouri State
Indiana State is 1-46 against the Missouri State Bears with the Sycamores lone victory coming in 1994 when ISU won 3-2 in Springfield, Mo. The Sycamores have dropped 32 straight to the Bears including a pair of five set losses last season. In the first meeting this year, Indiana State lost 3-1 (19-25, 20-25, 25-21, 8-25).
Series History vs. Wichita State
Indiana State is 12-32 against the Wichita State Shockers with the Sycamores last victory coming in 2002 when ISU won 3-1 in Terre Haute, Ind. The Sycamores have dropped 14 straight to the Shockers. In the first meeting this year, Indiana State lost 3-0 (21-25, 15-25, 21-25).
Recapping last week
The Sycamores got off to a flying start at Illinois State last Thursday, winning the opening set 25-23, but could not sustain the momentum. The Redbirds came back to take the second set 25-14, rallied to edge Indiana State 26-24 in the third set, and then took the fourth set 25-14. Freshman Morgan Dall had a career night with 19 kills in 60 attempts while junior Ana Maira Charun had 12 kills in 52 attempts. Senior Whitney Fromm had 38 assists and sophomore Kiya James had 26 digs.
