Indiana University Athletics
INDIANA HOSTS, ILLINOIS NORTHWESTERN
11/8/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
INDIANA HOSTS, ILLINOIS NORTHWESTERN
THIS WEEK -- The Hoosiers play Illinois in a midweek match at University Gym Wednesday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. (EST). Indiana will then take a day off before hosting Northwestern Friday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for children. Indiana University students are admitted free with a valid ID.
ABOUT THE HOOSIERS -- Indiana (15-8 overall, 6-8 Big Ten) remains in a three-way tie with Ohio State and Purdue for sixth-place in the league standings. Last week the Hoosiers split play at home, losing to No. 1 Penn State 6-15, 2-15, 2-15 before bouncing back with a sweep of Ohio State 15-5, 15-10, 15-10 the next evening. Junior Amanda Welter led the Hoosiers with eight kills against the Nittany Lions while senior Ryann Connors tallied 11 kills in IU's win over the Buckeyes. Connors leads the Hoosiers' offense this season, averaging 4.06 kills per game. Teammate Amanda Welter follows with a 3.63 kill per game average. Welter also leads the team with a .281 hitting percentage. Senior Cydryce Carter leads the team in digs and blocks, averaging 2.92 digs and 1.02 blocks per game, respectively. Senior Erin Heimann is tops in serving with 40 aces, while freshman Laurie Gardner sets the attack for the Hoosiers, averaging 11.83 assists per game.
COACH KATIE WEISMILLER -- Katie Weismiller is in her seventh season as Indiana's head coach and carries a 106-108 (.495) school record and an eight-year career mark of 156-130 (.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.
DISTRICT RANKINGS -- For the first time this season the Hoosiers are ranked seventh in the NCAA District 2 Regional rankings released Nov. 3. No. 1 Penn State holds down the top spot followed by: 2) Minnesota, 3) Wisconsin, 4) Michigan State, 5) Illinois and 6) Western Michigan. District 2 is made up of 41 teams from the Big Ten Conference, Mid-America Conference, Metro Atlantic Conference and Northeast Conference.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE -- The Hoosiers will play four of their last six matches at home, a place where they have amassed a 19-5 record over the past two seasons. This fall, IU is 7-3 in University Gym.
ABOUT ILLINOIS -- The Fighting Illini arrive in Bloomington in the midst of a four-match losing streak. Currently, Illinois is in a tie for fourth-place in the league standings with a 12-8 overall record and an 8-6 mark in the Big Ten. Last week Illinois dropped a three-game decision to Ohio State on Friday and a four-game match to Penn State on Saturday. Sophomore outside hitter Shadia Haddad leads the Fighting Illini attack, averaging 3.86 kills per game. Middle blocker Betsy Spicer follows with 3.19 kills per game and a 1.33 block per game average. Leading the defense is Tracey Marshall with 2.79 digs per game. Head Coach Don Hardin is in his fourth season with the program and carries a 64-47 school record. The Series: The Fighting Illini lead the all-time series 38-11-1. Last month the Hoosiers opened their conference season with a 3-0 loss to Illinois in Champaign.
NORTHWESTERN INFO -- Northwestern comes to town Friday fresh off it's first Big Ten victory of the season, a 3-0 win over Iowa. Prior to the win, the Wildcats had lost 13-straight-matches. Their record currently stands at 3-21 overall and 1-13 in the Big Ten. Outside hitters Carmen Burbach and Jennifer Zagorski lead Northwestern's offense, averaging 2.79 and 2.64 kills per game, respectively. Zagorski also leads her team with 3.12 digs per game and 26 service aces. Head coach Kevin Renshler is in his third season at NU where he holds a 31-56 record with the program. The Series: The Hoosiers lead the overall series 19-18. Last month Indiana defeated Northwestern 8-15, 15-5, 15-5, 15-7 in Evanston.
NO RALLY IN SIGHT -- The Hoosiers are the only team in the Big Ten to have not played a five-game rally-scored match this season. Indiana's record for three-game matches is 7-4 while it's four-game match record stands at 8-4.
BIG TEN TOUGHNESS -- All eight of the Hoosiers' losses this season have been to Big Ten opponents, including six losses to ranked Big Ten teams.
DOWN THE STRETCH -- With six matches remaining at this time last season, Indiana was in fifth place by itself in the league standings with a 14-9 overall record and a 7-7 mark in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers went on to win just two of their last six matches but still managed to advance to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in school history.
CAREER LEADER -- Senior Ryann Connors became the all-time school record holder for career kills Oct. 29 when she passed former Hoosier standout Jen Magelssen's 1,387 career kills (1995-98) record. The 5-11 outside hitter now boasts 1,429 career kills.
MORE ON CONNORS -- Connors is also chasing down Magelssen's school record for double-figure kill matches. Magelssen's record stands at 75 while Connors enters weekend play with 73 double-figure kill matches.
FROSH PLAY -- One player who has quietly stepped up for the Hoosiers this season is freshman Hillary Toivonen. The 5-10 outside hitter has been perhaps the most consistent for Coach Katie Weismiller, averaging 2.68 kills and 2.34 digs per game. In addition, she has 19 service aces and 18 blocks. She has also tallied six double-figure kill matches and four double-figure dig matches this fall.
BALANCED ATTACK -- Although Ryann Connors and Amanda Welter are keyed as IU's two top guns, the Hoosiers really feature a very balanced attack with six players collecting over 100 kills this season. They are: Welter (294), Connors (272), Hillary Toivonen (198), Cydryce Carter (186), Jill Mudge (150) and Laura Mettes (106).
ON THE NATIONAL FRONT -- Nationally, the Hoosiers are ranked 15th for team kills and second in the Big Ten, averaging 16.79 kills per game.
