Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Michigan State
Five Sets. Two Teams. One IU Victory
10/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 23, 2010
Final Stats |
Photo Gallery 
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana improved to 17-5 overall and 5-5 in Big Ten play with a five-set victory (25-17, 18-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-13) over Michigan State (11-10, 3-7). The Hoosiers are now winners of five of their last six matches and have moved into a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference standings.
Ashley Benson was, appropriately, a terror on the court as it was Halloween costume night inside University Gym Saturday night. The Bloomington, Ind., native totaled 19 kills, nine blocks and a lofty .545 hitting efficiency. Jordan Haverly served as her battering mate in the offensive attack, racking up 22 kills. Meanwhile, Caitlin Cox dug a match-high 22 balls and Whitney Granado dished out 36 assists.
The Hoosiers used an eight-point run to propel themselves to a 10-2 advantage that eventualyl ended in a 25-17 final set score. As a team, Indiana stuffed the Spartans eight times in the opening set alone, including a ridiculous six block assists for Benson.
After dropping the next two sets, the Hoosiers were backed into a corner and had to fight their way out of it to avoid defeat. Haverly took her game to another level in the final two frames, hitting .333 with 12 kills over that stretch. Set number four was a back-and-forth affair with 16 tied scores and five lead changes. A very heady roll shot by Ivie Obeime broke a 23-23 tie and gave IU a set point. Benson took care of the 25th point, turning a one-on-one situation with MSU's Jenilee Rathje into a solo block, stuffing the Spartan attack straight down.
Reminiscent of Indiana's five-set winner at Georgia Tech in the season opener, Benson absolutely took over in the final frame. The 2009 All-American was set eight balls, terminating seven of them for an .875 attack percentage. Haverly was responsible for the team's other four kills, firing at a .364 rate (4-0-11). The Spartans were able to blister quite a few attacks themselves, but Cox was there to pick them up with five digs in the truncated fifth set.
Indiana saw a 10-5 lead dwindled down to a lone point at 10-9. After an IU timeout, the Hoosiers regrouped and finished off the match. Haverly sealed the deal with her 22nd kill of the night, blasting a shot down the line off the forearms of the MSU defensive specialist as the ball deflected into the stands.
Next up weekend brings a large challenge for the Cream and Crimson. A road trip to Penn State (Oct. 29) and Ohio State (Oct. 30) awaits on the docket.
