Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Wisconsin
Hoosiers Seize Five-Set Win at Wisconsin
11/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 27, 2009
Final Stats
MADISION, Wis. - The Indiana University volleyball team (16-17) went into Madison, Wis., Friday night and left with a 3-2 victory over the Badgers (11-17). Indiana avenged a five-set loss to Wisconsin earlier this season, topping the Badgers on the road for the second consecutive season. The final scoreboard tallies read 22-25, 25-21, 25-15, 23-25, and 15-12.
The Hoosiers built a defensive wall inside the UW Fieldhouse, racking up 17.5 blocks in the final four sets. Ashley Benson played a roll in 10 IU rejections with her nine block assists and one solo block. Benson was far from alone in the defensive frontcourt, however, as five other Hoosiers recorded two or more blocks as well. Kelsey Hall shattered her previous career-best of five blocks, stuffing eight Badger attack attempts. Sam Thrower contributed six blocks to the effort. Caitlin Cox took care of the backcourt, covering lots of ground en route to 22 digs.
Offensively, Jordan Haverly paced IU with 22 kills at a .333 pace (22-5-51). Benson earned herself a double-double when she added 18 kills to her aforementioned 10 blocks.
With 14 tied scores and four lead changes, the ultra-competitive first set saw neither team garner a lead of greater than two points until the final point when Wisconsin snagged a 25-22 triumph. Several individual Hoosiers posted gaudy numbers in the losing effort. Benson connected for five kills on nine errorless swings while Haverly pounded home seven kills and hit .385. Cox, meanwhile, dug nine balls in the opening set.
The dynamic duo of Benson and Haverly kept it going in set number two, combining for 10 more put-aways. The key to Indiana's second-set win was the emergence of team blocking. After a zero-block effort in the first set, IU sent back five Wisconsin attack attempts in the second stanza. The Badgers were limited to a .079 attack percentage. In the end, the set went in favor of Indiana, 25-21.
Indiana turned around an early 4-1 hole to start the third set into a 14-6 advantage via a 13-2 run that concluded with back-to-back-to-back service aces off the right arm of Benson. The Hoosiers continued to pile it on, cruising to a 25-15 winner. In addition to Benson's magnicificant serving, each of Indiana's defensive specialists, Cox and Laura Matula, also had long stints at the service line.
Cox scooped up seven more digs in the fourth set, but it was not enough as Wisconsin squeezed by the Cream and Crimson for a 25-23 win. Knotted at two sets apiece, the Hoosiers headed to their 11th fifth set of the season.
As if the added pressure from a truncated 15-point fifth set isn't enough, Friday night's final frame was an absolute slugfest with a whopping 11 tied scores and five lead changes. The scoreboard edge flip-flopped for last time when IU went ahead 13-12 though. Facing a 12-10 deficit, Head Coach Sherry Dunbar called a timeout to get her troops in order. She did just that in the team huddle apparently as her Hoosiers ripped off the next five points for the 15-12 match-clinching tally.
Indiana plays their final match of the 2009 season Saturday night, taking on the Iowa Hawkeyes inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. That bout is set for a 7 p.m. local time start (8 p.m. EST). Tune into IUHoosiers for a free audio broadcast.
