Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Ohio State
Ohio State Defeats Hoosiers in Four Sets
10/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 24, 2009
Final Stats
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - IU Volleyball's comeback at Ohio State came up short, falling in four sets (25-19, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23). Indiana drops to 14-10 overall and 3-7 in Big Ten play while the Buckeyes improve to 17-6, 5-5.
Numerous Hoosiers had outstanding offensive performances inside St. John Arena, led by Ashley Benson collecting 12 kills at a .345 pace. Haverly was the top terminator, putting away 15 kills. Upperclassmen Whitney Thomas and Taylor Wittmer were key contributors as well, combining for 17 kills and a .350 hitting efficiency (17-3-40).
On the defensive side of the net, Caitlin Cox dug 16 balls on the night while Benson and Mary Chaudoin each tallied four blocks.
Coming off an impressive performance in State College, Kelsey Hall was the focal point of the IU offensive attack in the opening set, carrying a heavy load with 15 swings. Meanwhile, Thomas subbed in early and immediately contributed with three kills on five errorless swings. Unfortunately there was little offense coming via any other Hoosier sources as Ohio State captured a 25-19 triumph.
Set number two was a tight one as the lead exchanged hands five times. Thomas remained hot with five more put-aways while Haverly connected on six of her own. Despite the improved offensive flow and .262 team hitting efficiency, Indiana fell behind two-sets-to-none. Ohio State hit a blistering .576 in the frame, winning 25-22.
The Hoosiers emerged from the locker room looking like a different team, earning seven of the first 10 points. Back-to-back-to-back service aces by Benson gave IU the 7-3 edge and forced Ohio State Head Coach Geoff Carlston to burn an early timeout. The break in action did not cool off the red-hot Hoosiers, however, extending their point streak to seven at 10-3. Ohio State would battle all the way back to a 23-23 tie before a service error and rejection by Haverly and Wittmer halted the comeback. Indiana forced a fourth set by taking the third one, 25-23. Cox played a large role, digging six balls.
There were a match-high nine tied scores in the fourth set. After allowing a four-point OSU run, the resilient Hoosiers strung together of run of their own. Indiana owned a 15-13 advantage thanks to a five-point run, causing another Buckeye timeout. Ohio State would have a response as well though, grabbing eight of the subsequent 12 points to go ahead 21-19. The two squads then exchanged points for a bit until a kill by Chaudoin cut IU's deficit to a lone point at 24-23. Ohio State's Emily Danks followed with a match-clinching kill on the very next tpoint, ending it 25-23.
The Cream and Crimson return to Bloomington for next weekend's action, playing host to No. 8 Illinois and Northwestern. Both of those matches will be broadcast LIVE on BigTenNetwork.com. In fact, the next five IU Volleyball matches are set to be aired on either BigTenNetwork.com or the Big Ten Network main station.
