Indiana University Athletics
HOOSIERS TRAVEL TO NO. 22 MINNESOTA, IOWA
10/12/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
HOOSIERS TRAVEL TO NO. 22 MINNESOTA, IOWA
THIS WEEK -- The Hoosiers take to the road this weekend, traveling to No. 22 Minnesota and Iowa. Indiana plays the Gophers Friday, Oct. 15 at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis and then faces the Hawkeyes Saturday, Oct. 16 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Both matches are set to begin at 7 p.m. (EST).
HOOSIERS ON THE TUBE -- Indiana's match vs. Minnesota Friday evening will be televised live regionally by Midwest Sports Channel. Ryan Lefebvre and Sarah Pearman will provide play-by-play and color analysis.
ABOUT THE HOOSIERS -- Indiana (11-4 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) currently is tied with three other teams for sixth-place in the league standings. Last week the Hoosiers split play, losing to No. 18 Wisconsin 3-0, before defeating Purdue 3-1 to win the annual Monon Spike match. Senior Ryann Connors leads the team with 4.34 kills per game while junior Amanda Welter follows with 4.19 kills per game. Welter leads the team with a .323 hitting percentage. Senior Cydryce Carter leads the team with 2.63 digs and 1.02 blocks per game while senior Erin Heimann is tops in serving with 22 aces. Freshman Laurie Gardner sets the attack for the Hoosiers, averaging 11.32 assists per game.
ROAD WARRIORS -- After this weekend's road trips to Minnesota and Iowa, the Hoosiers will have played six of their first eight Big Ten Conference matches on the road.
RANKED LOSSES -- All four of the Hoosiers' losses have been to ranked opponents at the time of the match. They are: Illinois (No. 25), Ohio State (No. 25), Penn State (No. 2) and Wisconsin (No. 18).
COACH KATIE WEISMILLER -- Katie Weismiller is in her seventh season as Indiana's head coach and carries a 102-104 (.498) school record and an eight-year career mark of 152-126 (.551). Since coming to IU, Weismiller has led the Hoosiers to two postseason NCAA Tournament appearances, the program's first-ever NCAA tournament win and the school's first Top 25 ranking.
ABOUT MINNESOTA -- The 22nd-ranked Gophers (15-3 overall, 6-0 Big Ten) along with Penn State remain the only two unbeaten teams in league play. Minnesota has won 18 straight games since losing game one of the its opener to Wisconsin. The Gophers swept the Michigan road trip last week, defeating both Michigan and Michigan State in three games. Junior outside hitter Nicole Branagh picked up her second Conference Player of the Week honor after averaging 6.67 kills and 3.67 digs per game while hitting .367 against UM and MSU. For the season she is leading the league with 5.45 kills per game. Teammate Lindsey Berg has been dangerous from the service line with a conference-leading 37 aces. Head Coach Mike Hebert is in his fourth season with the program and carries a 79-38 school record. The Series: The Gophers lead the all-time series 25-11. Last season the two teams split play with each winning on their home court.
IOWA INFO -- Prior to Friday night's match vs. Illinois, the Hawkeyes are 4-9 overall and 3-3 in Big Ten play for fifth place. Last week the Hawkeye's defeated Michigan State 3-2 before losing 3-0 to Michigan. Senior Julie Williams leads the Hawkeyes, averaging 4.49 kills, 2.28 digs and .70 service aces per game. Rita Crockett is in her second season at Iowa and holds a 13-29 record with the program. The Series: Indiana leads the all-time series 21-18. Last season the two teams split play with each winning on their home court.
HOOSIERS AT UNIVERSITY GYM -- Indiana's school record-tying nine-match home win streak came to a halt last Friday as Wisconsin defeated the Hoosiers 3-0.
PACKED HOUSE -- Last week's crowd against Purdue turned out to be the sixth-largest (1,135) ever at University Gym. The current single match attendance record is 1,500 set Oct. 3, 1987 against Purdue.
GARDNER SETTLES IN -- Redshirt freshman Laurie Gardner continues to prove herself since taking over starting setter duties at the beginning of Big Ten play. Against Purdue last weekend she garnered a career-high 55 assists. She also added seven kills, eight digs and five block assists in the 3-1 victory. For the season she is averaging 11.32 assists per game.
STEPPING UP -- Senior Cydryce Carter elevated her play this past weekend with 19 kills, 4 service aces, 21 digs and 8 block assists. Against Purdue, the middle blocker tallied nine kills on 19 attempts with no errors for an impressive .500 hitting percentage. Carter leads the Hoosiers this season at the net, averaging 1.02 blocks per game.
THE BIG HURT -- Right side hitter Amanda Welter continues to lead the Hoosiers with 218 kills this season. Her 4.19 kills per game average and .323 attack percentage rank eighth best in the league. Welter has had an impressive junior campaign to date, being named Co-Big Ten Player of the Week, MVP of both the Florida State Classic and Duke Invitational and was voted to the HoosierTimes.com Invitational all-tournament team.
HOLDING HER OWN -- Since moving into the starting lineup at the start of the conference season, freshman outside hitter Hilary Toivonen has proven she can hold her own in the rugged Big Ten league. Toivonen currently is averaging a team-leading 2.55 digs and third-best 2.50 kills per game in Big Ten matches.
GOING FOR THE ACE -- Indiana has proven to be a tough serving team this fall, averaging 1.98 aces per game. In league games, the Hoosiers rank second and have out-aced their opponent 38-24. Senior Erin Heimann leads the team with 22 aces. Other top servers include Cydryce Carter with 17 and Amanda Welter with 13.
ON RECORD PACE -- Senior Ryann Connors should become the school record holder for career kills this season, needing only 65 more to take over the No. 1 spot held by former Hoosier standout Jen Magelssen. Currently, the 5-11 outside hitter has 1,322 kills.
AT HOME OR ON THE ROAD -- Indiana is 5-1 when playing at University Gym and 6-3 when on the road.
INDIANA NOTES -- Indiana continues to out-hit and out-dig its opponents this season. The Hoosiers are averaging 17.23 kills per game compared to the competition's 13.87 per game average, while also tallying a better hitting percentage at .237 versus the opposition's .179. In all, seven Hoosiers are hitting above .200. The Hoosiers' defense has also been impressive as it is out digging its opponents 15.02 to 14.02 digs per game. At the service line IU is also on top, averaging 1.98 aces per game.
