Indiana University Athletics
HOOSIERS FACE NORTHERN IOWA IN FIRST ROUND
12/1/1998 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
HOOSIERS FACE NORTHERN IOWA IN FIRST ROUND
ROUND ONE -- The Indiana volleyball team will be making their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament Dec. 3 when they travel to Fayettville, Ark. to face the University of Northern Iowa. Arkansas will play New Hampshire in the second match at Barnhill Arena. The two winners will continue play in the second round Dec. 4.
ABOUT THE HOOSIERS -- Indiana (16-13 overall, 9-11 Big Ten) finished the regular season with road losses at Ohio State and Penn State. On Friday, the Hoosiers were swept by the Buckeyes 15-8, 15-6, 15-10. Melissa Rooney led Indiana in both matches. The senior middle blocker had 13 kills at Ohio State and 11 kills at Penn State. Indiana finished in a tie for fifth place with Ohio State. As a team, the Hoosiers are ranked third in Big Ten in digs at 14.68 per game. With 1.63 service aces per game, they are tied for third in the Big Ten with Wisconsin, and Indiana is fourth in kills with 16.51 per game. The team's fifth place finish was only the second time in the '90's that Indiana has finished in the top half of the Big Ten. The last time was in 1995 when the Hoosiers finished in a fourth-place tie and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
HEAD COACH KATIE WEISMILLER -- Katie Weismiller is in her sixth season as Indiana's head coach with an 91-98 (.481) school record and an eight-year career mark of 141-122 (.536). Prior to coming to Indiana, Weismiller spent two years as the assistant coach at Florida where she helped lead the Gators to the school's first Final Four appearance in 1992. She began her coaching career at St. Louis University, where she was head coach from 1989-91. There, she guided the Billikens to a 50-24 record, and in 1989, the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Championship.
THE LAST TIME -- The last and only appearance for Indiana in the NCAA tournament was in 1995. The Hoosiers traveled to Fairfax, Va. and lost in the first round to George Mason 15-8, 15-10, 15-13. Seniors Jen Magelssen and Melissa Rooney were freshmen on that team. Magelssen had 11 kills and 17 digs while Rooney had a single kill in the first round loss.
HOOSIERS VS. THE FIELD -- Indiana faced 10 NCAA tournament teams 15 times during the regular season and posted a 6-9 record. Of those 10 teams, five were from the Big Ten. Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin also earned bids to the tournament. Illinois, Michigan State, Penn State, and Wisconsin will host first and second round matches.
Date Team W/L Score-by-game 9/4/98 @at Colorado St. W 10-15, 15-8, 15-13, 7-15, 15-13 9/5/98 @vs. Arizona L 15-10, 11-15, 15-6, 11-15, 11-15 9/11/98 ^vs. S. California L 11-15, 14-16, 15-11, 2-15 9/12/98 ^vs. Notre Dame W 15-12, 15-6, 5-15, 5-15, 15-11 9/18/98 vs. E. Washington W 10-15, 15-6, 15-6, 15-8 9/25/98 vs. Wisconsin L 6-15, 12-15, 2-15 10/2/98 vs. Michigan St. W 15-12, 11-15, 15-13, 15-13 10/10/98 at Illinois L 8-15, 13-15, 8-15 10/23/98 vs. Penn State L 9-15, 6-15, 6-15 10/24/98 vs. Ohio State W 17-15, 15-4, 15-11 10/31/98 at Michigan State L 7-15, 15-5, 7-15, 12-15 11/6/98 vs. Illinois W 15-11, 14-16, 15-11, 15-9 11/14/98 at Wisconsin L 10-15, 3-15, 9-15 11/27/98 at Ohio State L 8-15, 9-15, 10-15 11/28/98 at Penn State L 5-15, 6-15, 10-15 @ University Park/Holiday Inn Classic, Ft. Collins, Colo. ^ Inntowner Invitational, Madison, Wis.
BIG TEN TOUGHNESS -- Arguably the nation's top volleyball conference, the Big Ten along with the Big 12 and Western Athletic Conference garnered the most tournament bids with six. Penn State, 1998 Big Ten Champions, led the way with a No. 1 seed in the Central Region. The Nittany Lions were followed by second-seeded Wisconsin and fourth-seeded Michigan State in the Pacific, and fourth-seeded Illinois in the East Region. Ohio State will be in Gainesville, Fla. for first round action and the Hoosiers are at Arkansas.
FIRST ROUND OPPONENT
NO. 24 NORTHERN IOWA -- Northern Iowa (25-2, 18-0 Missouri Valley) is
making its sixth postseason appearance, first since 1995. The Panthers won
the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles. They
are led by MVC Coach of the Year Iradge Ahrabi-Fard and Player of the Year
Shannon Perry. Perry, a junior setter, averages 12.1 assists and 2.2 digs
per game and leads a balanced offensive attack. The top hitter for the Panthers
is sophomore Alexandra Auker with 3.7 kills per game. Kerri Eich and Holly
VanHofwegen average 3.3 and 3.1 kills per game, respectively. Auker and
VanHofwegen were MVC first-team members along with Perry. Coach Ahrabi-Fard
is in his 17th season with UNI and has compiled a 444-135 record. He has
won MVC Coach of the Year honors five times. The Series: This will
be the first ever meeting between the Hoosiers and Panthers.
Indiana Northern Iowa 16-13 Record 25-2 .228 Hitting Pct. .257 1,726 Kills 1,528 4,375 Attempts 3,637 1,541 Assists 1,298 169 Service Aces 170 1,527 Digs 1,414 226 Blocks 277.5
POSSIBLE SECOND ROUND OPPONENT
NO. 13 ARKANSAS -- Arkansas (27-5, 14-1 SEC) enters the tournament ranked
13th in the nation. The Lady Razorbacks are making their third straight
appearance in the tournament. They are led by seniors Kim Storey and Jamie
Rohme. Storey, a middle blocker, leads the team in with 4.32 kills per game
and .409 hitting percentgae. Rohme, an outside hitter, averages 4.14 kills
and 3.25 digs per game. Head coach Chris Poole is in his fourth season at
the University of Arkansas. His team finished runner-up to No. 4 Florida
in the SEC Championship match. The Series: A possible second-round
matchup will be the first ever meeting between Indiana and Arkansas.
POSSIBLE SECOND ROUND OPPONENT
NEW HAMPSHIRE -- New Hampshire (24-10, 14-0 America East) is one of
10 teams making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats
won the America East conference and earned the automatic bid to the tournament.
They are led by outside hitter Jillian Ross. Ross, a sophomore, averages
3.65 kills per game 2.51 digs per game. The Wildcats are coached by Jill
Hirschinger. The Series: A possible second-round matchup will be
the first ever meeting between the Hoosiers and Panthers.
CONNORS EARNS ALL-BIG TEN HONORS -- Ryann Connors, a junior outside hitter, was named All-Big Ten by the League's coaches. She is the first Hoosier since Julie Flatley in 1995 to receive conference honors.
HOME SWEET HOME -- Indiana's 12 wins this season at home set a new school record. The Hoosiers went 12-2 in University Gym and broke the 10-year-old record of 10 wins.
CARTER NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT -- Junior middle blocker Cydryce Carter was named to the GTE Academic All-District V second team. On the court, Carter is averaging 0.94 blocks per game to lead the team. In the classroom, the Houston native is majoring in biology and hopes to enter medical school after graduation.
DIGGING IN -- Throughout the season the Hoosiers were near the top of the Big Ten in digs. They finished the regular season third in the league, averaging 14.68 per game.
LEADERBOARD WATCH -- Senior Jen Magelssen already holds the school record for career service aces (194) and digs (1,313) and is presently in pursuit of the school record for kills. Currently she ranks second on the all-time list with 1,367 kills and needs just 15 more to become the program's career leader.
ONE MORE -- Jen Magelssen broke the school record for double-figure kill matches in a career against Northwestern. The record, which was 73 matches, was set by former Hoosier Liz Ambrustmacher (1985-88). Magelssen, now with 74 double-figure kill matches, already holds the school record for double-digit dig matches with 66.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK -- Junior outside hitter Ryann Connors received AVCA National and Big Ten Player of the Week honors for her performance against Illinois and Purdue Nov. 6-7. She is the second player in Indiana history to receive AVCA honors. Julie Flatley was recognized last year by the AVCA. Connors tallied 62 kills and 30 digs in two wins vs. Illinois and Purdue. In the Purdue match, she set a school record with 35 kills in the five-game victory and recorded three service aces and 16 digs The night before against Illinois the junior had 27 kills and 14 digs. Connors is also the second Hoosier this season to be named Big Ten Player of the Week as Amanda Welter was honored earlier in the season. Welter, a sophomore outside hitter, was named Co-Big Ten Player of the Week Oct. 5 after guiding the Hoosiers to back-to-back wins Michigan State and Michigan. Welter shared the honor with Penn State's Lauren Cacciamani. Attacking on the right side, Welter registered a career-high 22 kills and 12 digs in the Hoosiers upset win over then-No. 21 Michigan State Oct. 2. Against Michigan, she posted eight kills, five blocks and 10 digs while posting a .333 attack percentage. For the week, Welter averaged 4.3 kills and 3.1 digs and had a .312 attack percentage in seven games.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS -- In the Big Ten Conference's preseason poll announced July 20, the Big Ten Volleyball coaches unanimously selected Penn State first in the 1998 pre-season coaches poll. Closely following PSU was last year's co-champion Wisconsin. Indiana was chosen to finish eighth.
