Weekly Release #8

10/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Last Week
Fri., Oct. 11 vs. Northwestern, L 3-2 (30-19, 27-30, 25-30, 36-34, 13-16)
Sat., Oct. 12 vs. No. 15 Wisconsin, W 3-2 (30-26, 26-30, 31-29, 26-30, 15-11)

Upcoming
Fri., Oct. 18 at Illinois, 7:00 p.m. EST (FoxSports MW, tape)
Sat., Oct. 19 at Purdue, 7:00 p.m. EST

Indiana Looks for first Big Ten road victory: After defeating No. 15 Wisconsin, 3-2, this past Saturday, and suffering a 3-2 setback vs. Northwestern on Friday, Indiana returns to action this weekend with matches at Illinois and Purdue.

Friday's match at Illinois (9-6 overall, 3-3 Big Ten) will be replayed on Fox Sports Midwest at 3:00 p.m. CST on October 20. Saturday's match at Purdue will mark the 29th meeting for The Monon Spike, which symbolizes the volleyball rivalry between Indiana and Purdue, which began in 1975. Indiana won last year's Monon Spike match, which was played in Bloomington, 3-1. Purdue has won the last three Monon Spike matches played in West Lafayette.

Saturday's match against the Boilermakers will also be the first Titan Series event staged between the two schools this year. Established in 2001-02, the Titan Series is an overall athletics competition between Indiana and Purdue. Each sport is worth one point toward an overall championship. A total of 20 points can be won. The winner of regular season head-to-head competition earns the point for its institution. Should the teams split or tie in regular season competition the point is split between the two institutions. If the two institutions do not compete in head-to-head regular season competition, the team that places higher at the Big Ten Championship will earn the point. Should they tie in conference championship competition the point will be split. In the sport of track & field three-way meets that are scored as dual meets do not count as head-to-head competition. Indiana won last year's inaugural series.

The Hoosiers are led by sophomore outside hitter Christina Archibald (Belleville, Ill./West). Archibald leads the Hoosiers with an average of 4.59 kills per game, while sophomore setter Victoria Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) averages 13.60 assists per game, which ranks her fourth nationally in assists per game in the most recent NCAA statistical report (through matches of October 13). This past weekend, junior Melissa Brewer (Bloomington, Ind./North) recorded a career-high 25 kills in an upset victory over No. 15 Wisconsin.

Northwestern and Wisconsin in Review: On Saturday evening, Indiana continued its its stellar play at home as the Hoosiers defeated 15th-ranked Wisconsin at the University Gymnasium. The victory was Indiana's third over an opponent ranked among the nation's top 30 teams (No. 30 Louisville, No. 11 Ohio State). In the win over the Badgers, junior Melissa Brewer (Bloomington, Ind./North) recorded a career-high 25 kills and notched a hitting percentage of .595. She was joined by sophomore Christina Archibald (Belleville, Ill./West) who recorded 20 kills and hit .333.

In a 3-2 loss to Northwestern on Friday evening, Indiana actually scored more points than the Wildcats throughout the course of the night but fell, 3-2. Archibald led the way for the Hoosiers with 23 kills.

Attendance Record in the Books: A crowd of 1,022 at the University Gymnasium witnessed Indiana's 3-2 victory over No. 15 Wisconsin this past Saturday. The attendance figure tied the ninth-best mark in school history in matches played at the University Gym. It was also tied the fourth-highest University Gym attendance in a match not played against Purdue.

Brewer's Blasts...and a little Pollom too: Junior middle blocker Melissa Brewer (Bloomington, Ind./North) turned in one of the finest weekends of her career this past week. In matches vs. Northwestern and No. 15 Wisconsin this past weekend. In two matches, the middle blocker recorded 43 kills on a total of 74 attempts with only seven errors for a hitting percentage of .486. She also recorded seven block assists. In Indiana upset win over the Badgers, she recorded a career-high 25 kills and six block assists. Junior Katie Pollom (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) also recorded a career-high 19 kills against the Badgers.

A Look Ahead to Illinois and Purdue: Illinois enters Friday evening's match fresh off of an upset of sixth-ranked Minnesota this past Saturday. The Fighting Illini are led by 6-5 middle blocker Lisa Argabright, who was one of 20 collegiate players invited to train in USA Volleyball's National A2 program this past summer. She was and All-Big Ten and AVCA All-Mideast selection one year ago and is averaging 3.25 kills and 1.24 blocker per game in 2002. She is joined by senior outside hitter Sue Webber.

The Boilermakers (9-9 overall, 0-6 Big Ten) enter Saturday's action with an 0-6 Big Ten mark after beginning the season with a 9-3 non-conference mark. Purdue is led by sophomore Kim McConaha, who is averaging 3.72 kills per game and has recorded a .355 hitting percentage.
Indiana against Illinois and Purdue:

Indiana has recorded a 12-40-1 all-time mark against the University of Illinois, including a 2-20-1 record in Champaign-Urbana. Indiana lost both of its matches to the Fighting Illini one year ago but swept Illinois in 2002. Against the Boilermakers, Indiana owns a 29-39 overall record, including a 9-19 overall mark in West Lafayette. Indiana has won six of the last seven matches played between the two teams.

This Weekend's Connections: Indiana true freshman Ashley White (St. Charles, Ill./East) was a high school teammate of Illinois' Lauren Harks and was a club teammate of both Harks and Illini setter Erin Virtue. Purdue freshman Sarah Vitali also played at St. Charles East.

Closing in on 1,000 Assists: Although she recorded only seven assists as a freshman one year ago, setter Victoria Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) has already moved into ninth on Indiana's all-time assists list with 959. She needs only 41 assists to reach 1,000 for her career and 48 to reach 1,000 assists for the season. In doing so, Zimmerman will become only the eighth Indiana volleyball player to record 1,000 career assists.

Archibald Off to Torrid Start: One year after earning Big Ten all-freshman team honors, outside hitter Christina Archibald (Belleville, Ill./West) has quickly dismissed any notion that she may go through a sophomore slump. On September 23, Archibald was recognized as the Big Ten's Player-of-the-Week, becoming only the 11th Indiana volleyball player (on 15 previous occasions) to earn the honor. This fall, Archibald leads the Hoosiers in kills (321) and kills per game (4.59). She is second on the team in digs (2.47 per game), trailing only senior libero Hillary Toivonen (3.06).

Spreading the Wealth: Five Indiana volleyball players earned all-tournament team honors in 2002. At the Northern Illinois Invitational (8/30-31), Christina Archibald (Belleville, Ill./West) and sophomore Katie Pollom (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) earned all-tournament honors and junior middle blocker Melissa Brewer (Bloomington, Ind./North) was recognized as the tournament's Most Valuable Player. At the TIS/Taylor Imprinted Sportswear Classic (Sept. 6-7), Pollom and Archibald were named to the all-tournament team. At the Terrapin Invitational (Sept. 13-14), Archibald was named to the all-tournament team for the third consecutive week. She was joined on the team by senior libero Hillary Toivonen (Muncie, Ind./Burris). At the IU Credit Union Classic, junior Nikki Hill got into the mix, earning her first all-tournament recognition of the season, despite being one of the Hoosiers' most consistent players in 2002. She was joined on the all-tourney team by Archibald and Brewer.

Win Over 11th-Ranked Ohio State Marks Huge Day for Weismiller: With 151 victories at Indiana, head coach Katie Weismiller (Texas-Arlington, '88) is only eight victories shy of becoming Indiana's all-time winningest volleyball coach in terms of victories (Ann Lawver, 158 wins from 1975-82). Indiana's 3-1 upset victory over 11th-ranked Ohio State on September 25 marked her 200th career coaching victory and her 150th at Indiana. Now in her tenth season at Indiana, Weismiller has led the volleyball program to unprecedented heights. After taking over a program that was 6-23 prior to her arrival, Weismiller led the Hoosiers to a .500 record in only her second season in Bloomington. In her third season, the Hoosiers finished with a 20-14 overall mark, including a 12-8 record in the Big Ten Conference, and earned the school's first-ever NCAA tournament bid. Indiana made back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 1998 and 1999, advancing to the second round of the tournament on both occasions. Prior to Indiana, Weismiller was the head coach at Saint Louis University (1989-90), prior to serving as an assistant at the University of Florida (1991-92).

Two New Assistants Join IU Staff: Tenth-year head coach Katie Weismiller's staff underwent major changes this offseason as two new assistant coaches are strolling the IU sidelines for the first time. Cydryce Carter (Indiana '00) joins the Indiana staff after spending two seasons as an assistant at Southwest Texas State. As a standout player at Indiana under Weismiller, Carter finished her impressive career among Indiana's top 10 in digs, service aces, block assists, and total blocks. She twice earned Academic All-America honors.

Ryan Theis (Wisconsin-Milwaukee, '00) begins his first season at Indiana after spending the past two seasons as the top assistant and head recruiter for the women's volleyball program at Eastern Illinois University. He helped lead the Panthers to a 21-9 overall mark in 2001.

Brewer an Academic All-America Candidate: Junior Melissa Brewer (Bloomington, Ind./North), a first-team All-Big Ten Freshman Team selection in 2000, is a leading candidate to earn Academic All-America honors before her career reaches its conclusion. In 2001, the 6-foot-1 middle blocker recorded 340 kills and a .242 hitting percentage in 28 matches. She led the team with 110 blocks and finished second on the club with 212 digs. In the classroom, she earned Academic All-District V honors and was named to the Academic All-Big Ten Team. She also received the Balfour Award, which recognizes student-athletes who have brought honor and distinction to Indiana University. Brewer began the 2002 season where she left off, earning Most Valuable Player honors at the Northern Illinois Best Western Invitational (8/30-8/31). On the weekend, Brewer recorded a .415 hitting percentage, to go along with 46 kills in 10 games.

At the IU Credit Union Classic (9/20-21), Brewer was named to the all-tournament team. In a 3-1 victory over No. 30 Louisville, she recorded 14 kills and a .462 hitting percentage. She also led the Hoosiers in kills with 24 kills in an upset victory over 11th-ranked Ohio State (9/25).

Versus Northwestern and No. 15 Wisconsin (Oct. 11-12), Brewer turned in one of the finest weekends of her career. In two matches, the middle blocker recorded 43 kills on a total of 74 attempts with only seven errors for a hitting percentage of .486. She also recorded seven block assists. In Indiana upset win over the Badgers, she recorded a career-high 25 kills and six block assists.

With 70 block assists in 18 matches this fall, Brewer has now moved into fifth place on IU's career block assist list with 279.

The list is as follows:
1. Cydryce Carter (1996-99) 405
2. Julie Goedde (1986-89) 393
3. Liz Armbrustmacher (1985-88) 320
4. Anne Eastman (1991-94) 287
5. Melissa Brewer (2000-present) 279

Hill Receives National Recognition: Nikki Hill, a 5-foot-11 junior outside hitter from Muncie, Ind. (Central) received national recognition this past spring when she was named as a recipient of the Arthur Ashe, Jr., Sports Scholar Award, which is sponsored by Black Issues in Higher Education. The award is presented to student-athletes of color who have maintained a grade point average of 3.2 or higher and have demonstrated a record of service to the campus or community. Hill has played very well throughout the season and through 18 matches is averaging 2.93 kills, 2.19 digs, and 0.40 blocks per game. She was named to the all-tournament team at the IU Credit Union Classic.

Pollom Selected as Captain: Junior/sophomore Katie Pollom, a 6-foot-3 middle blocker from Indianapolis, Ind. (Cathedral High School) is serving as Indiana's team captain in 2002. What makes this rare is that Pollom, another potential Academic All-America candidate as her career continues, saw the first action of her career last fall, appearing in 71 games over the course of 23 matches, and is only a sophomore in eligibility, despite having junior academic status. In 2001, Pollom finished second on the team with 68 total blocks and finished fifth on the team with 129 kills. In 2002, she was named to the all-tournament team at the NIU Best Western Invitational. In a 3-0 victory over IUPUI, Pollom recorded a hitting percentage of .875. Pollom was again recognized the next week as she was named to the all-tournament team at Indiana's TIS/Taylor Imprinted Sportswear Invitational. Through 18 matches, she is second on the team with a .289 hitting percentage and is third with a 3.31 kills per game average. She recorded a career-high 18 kills in a 3-1 victory over Louisville on 9/21/02.

The Libero Position - Tailor Made for Toivonen: Collegiate volleyball has undergone a major rules change in 2002 with the institution of the libero. The libero is a designated back-row player, intended to be used as a ball-control specialist. The libero is allowed to replace any player in the back row without counting as a substitution. There is no limit to the number of libero replacements a team is allowed. The pronunciation is "LEE-bah-ro." The color of the libero's uniform must contrast from the color of her teammates' uniforms. The libero's shorts must be the same as her teammates'. The style and trip of the designated libero's uniform may differ from her teammates'. The referees will ultimately decide if the contrast is sufficient. Head coach Katie Weismiller strongly believes that the position will benefit senior Hillary Toivonen more than anyone else on the Hoosier roster.

"Playing the libero position will only highlight her best assets, which are passing and defense. She'll also provide great leadership."

As a junior in 2001, Toivonen played in all 28 matches and in 103 of 106 possible games in 2001. An excellent defender, she recorded a team-high 235 digs, joining Melissa Brewer (212) and Christina Archibald (203) as the only other Hoosiers to record 200-or-more. She was third on the team with 194 kills and also recorded five double-doubles.

This fall, Toivonen was named to the all-tournament team at the Terrapin Invitational (Sept. 13-14). She recorded the 1,000th dig of her career in a 3-2 victory over Butler (9/21/02). Through 18 matches, she leads the Hoosiers with 3.06 digs per game.

Toivonen Records 1,000th Career Dig: With 43 digs at the IU Credit Union Classic (Sept. 20-21), senior libero Hillary Toivonen (Muncie, Ind./Burris) moved from seventh to fourth place in career digs. In doing so, she also recorded her 1,000th career dig in a match vs. Butler. With 10 digs at Michigan State (10/5/02), she moved into third place on the career list is as follows:

1. Jen Magelssen (1995-98) 1,331
2. Cydryce Carter (1996-99) 1,128
3. Hillary Toivonen (1999-present) 1,087
4. Lynn Crawley (1991-94) 1,063
5. Julie Goedde (1986-89) 1,013
6. Kristina Sanderson (1996-99) 1,003
7. Nancy Mason (1988-91) 980
8. Joy Jordan (1987-90) 899
9. Stacie Murr (1992-95) 898
10. Michelle McElroy (1991-95) 882

The Two Freshmen: Indiana's roster will feature two freshmen in 2002 -- 6-foot-1 middle blocker Mandy Eberle (Sussex, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) and 6-foot-1 outside hitter Ashley White (St. Charles, Ill./East). Eberle helped lead her high school team to a No. 2 state ranking as a senior, while White led her team to a No. 7 national ranking and a state title.

Zimmerman Handling Setting Duties: Sophomore Victoria Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) is the lone setter on Indiana's roster in 2002 and, thus, will handle those duties throughout the season.

"Victoria comes in with an attitude that I love," said head coach Katie Weismiller. "She wants it so badly and she wants to work hard. We've had players in the past who are gamers, and she is truly one of those. Her setting locations are some of the best that we've ever had in the program."

In 2001, Zimmerman appeared in 23 games over the course of 12 matches. In this year's season opening tournament at Northern Illinois, Zimmerman recorded 135 assists (13.5 apg), four service aces, and recorded a .250 hitting percentage. She also played very well at the Indiana TIS/Taylor Imprinted Sportswear Classic (Sept. 6-7) as she recorded 138 assists in a total of 11 games (12.5 assists per game). At the Terrapin Invitational in College Park, Md. (Sept. 13-14), Zimmerman set a career high with 69 assists in a 3-2 win over Loyola Marymount. That mark didn't last long as she recorded a career-high 70 digs in a 3-2 win over Butler at the IU Credit Union Classic. She is currently ranked fourth nationally in assists with 13.60 per game.

Heimann Fills a Need: Indiana received an unexpected boost in late August when Beth Heimann (Decatur, Ind./Bellmont) returned to the program after a one-year hiatus. A defensive specialist, Heimann played for the Hoosiers as a true freshman but did not participate last year. The return of Heimann was a pleasant surprise for head coach Katie Weismiller, who believes the addition of an experienced defensive specialist should immediately improve her team.
"We are very excited to get her back on the court and back in our program," said Weismiller. "She is a great passer and a great defensive player. Now, she's been off a year. There are plenty of reps and conditioning that has to be done."
Heimann, whose sister Erin lettered in volleyball for the Hoosiers from 1996-99, appeared in 25 matches in 2001 and is excited to be back on the floor after a year's absence.
"I just missed playing volleyball," said Heimann, who is currently the roommate of sophomore Katie Pollom and junior Melissa Brewer, and lives next door to junior Monique Pritz and sophomore Christina Archibald. "I live with three of the girls so I am kind of in the middle of it. The opportunity came up so I decided to give it a chance again."
At the Terrapin Invitational (Sept. 13-14), Heimann recorded 26 digs and one service ace in three matches. She played very well at the IU Credit Union Classic as she recorded 34 digs and one service ace in three matches.

Archibald Named to 2001 Big Ten All-Freshman Team: For the third time in as many years, an IU freshman was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Following in the footsteps of Laurie Gardner (1999) and Melissa Brewer (2000), Belleville, Ill., product Christina Archibald was named to the 2001 Big Ten All-Freshman Team after turning in a stellar season that saw her set the freshman record for kills with 364. The members of the Big Ten All-Freshman Team are as follows:

2001 Big Ten All-Freshman Team
Christina Archibald - Indiana
Jennifer Gandolph - Michigan
Stacey Gordon - Ohio State (Freshman-of-the-Year)
Jill Odenthal - Wisconsin
Drew Robertson - Northwestern
Kim Schram - Michigan State

Nine Hoosiers Earn Academic All-Big Ten Honors: In 2001, nine Indiana volleyball players were eligible for Academic All-Conference honors, and all nine delivered by being recognized as such. Indiana's 2001 Academic All-Big Ten honorees are as follows (returning players in bold): Melissa Brewer (Sophomore/Biology), Laurie Gardner (Senior/Marketing), Nicole Hill (Sophomore/Marketing), Crecia Keithley (Senior/Psychology), Anna Makowski (Sophomore/Environmental Science), Katie Pollom (Sophomore/Biology), Monique Pritz (Sophomore/Exercise Science), Meghan Stout (Senior/Exercise Science), Hillary Toivonen (Junior/Health Administration).

Two-Sport Athlete: Sophomore Christina Archibald (Belleville, Ill./West) participated on the IU Track and Field team during the spring of 2002 and finished in a fourth-place tie at the Big Ten Championships with a leap of 5'7 3/4", tying her for the best finish in the event by a freshman. She boasts a career high jump of 5'10". A physically imposing outside hitter, Archibald immediately worked her way into the starting lineup as a true freshman in 2001 as she started all 28 matches on her way to earning Freshman All-Big Ten accolades. She played in 99 out of a possible 106 games and led the Hoosiers in kills (364), attacks (964), and service aces (29). Her total of 364 kills was the most every by an IU freshman. She finished third on the team in digs with 203. In the 2002 season opening tournament at Northern Illinois, recorded a career-high tying 23 kills vs. NIU.

At the TIS/Taylor Imprinted Sportswear Classic in Bloomington, Archibald was named to the all-tournament team. She followed up that performance by being named to the All-Tournament Team at the Terrapin Invitational in College Park, Md. (Sept. 13-14). In a 3-2 win over Loyola Marymount, Archibald recorded career-highs in kills (29) and digs (18). She was named MVP of the IU Credit Union Classic and earned Big Ten Player-of-the-Week honors.