Indiana University Athletics
IU Loses Regular Season Finale
11/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
November 30, 2002
Bloomington, Ind. - The Indiana volleyball program certainly didn't want to leave a potential NCAA Tournament bid in the hands of the selection committee but that's exactly what it's done as the Hoosiers sustained a damaging loss to Illinois this evening before 585 spectators at University Gymnasium. Illinois jumped to a 2-0 lead and held off the hard-charging Hoosiers, 3-1 (30-27, 30-21, 18-30, 30-26).
"Illinois recorded 20 blocks in four games," said head coach Katie Weismiller. "You have to give them credit. They got off to a fast start in game one and kept the pressure on throughout the match. We played very well in game three but had already put ourselves in a difficult position."
Junior middle blocker Melissa Brewer (Bloomington, Ind./North) led the Hoosiers with 15 kills, while sophomore Katie Pollom (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) and sophomore Christina Archibald (Belleville, Ill./West) recorded 13 and 10 kills, respectively. With her 10 kills, Archibald has moved into a first-place tie on Indiana's single-season kills list with 539 (Anne Eastman, 1994). Four Fighting Illini recorded at least 10 blocks, led by sophomore Jessica Belter, who recorded 16. Junior middle blocker Shelly O'Bryan notched 12 block assists.
Tonight's match closed the home career of Indiana's lone senior, libero/outside hitter Hillary Toivonen (Muncie, Ind./Burris). Tonight, she played the first two games at outside hitter before moving to libero for the final two stanzas. Having lost the first two games, she sparked a 30-18 win in game three and finished the night with 11 digs and five kills.
"It's tough to go out with a loss," said Toivonen. I'm hopeful it's not over yet. I have received such great support at Indiana University and it's been a wonderful career. I really appreciate the time I have spent with my teammates."
Tonight's loss, coupled with a Michigan victory over Northwestern leaves those two schools and Indiana in a sixth-place tie in the Big Ten Conference standings. The Big Ten's excellent RPI, which is second nationally among all conferences, was expected to earn the conference either six or seven tournament invitations. After tonight's developments, the tournament selection committee is now left in a quandary. Does it only award bids to Minnesota, Penn State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Michigan State? Does it invite all eight Big Ten schools that finished with a .500-or-better Big Ten record? Or does it face the unenviable task of trying to separate one or two teams between the three teams that finished with a .500 conference record? The headaches.
"(An NCAA tournament decision) is in somebody else's hands now," Weismiller. We'll keep our fingers crossed. That's about all we can do right now."
Indiana does have several arguments in its favor. With a 20-12 overall record, the Hoosiers are the only team of the three .500 squads to reach the 20-win plateau. Northwestern has recorded an 18-14 overall mark, while the Wolverines complete their regular season with a 16-14 mark. Indiana has two high quality non-conference victories over Louisville and Loyola Marymount. All three teams split their season series with the other two teams that finished in the sixth-place tie. Indiana did, however, beat both Michigan and Northwestern the last time the Hoosiers played both squads, including a win at Northwestern.
In game one, Indiana fell behind early and could never gain a handle on the Illini. Illinois secured a 14-6 lead on a Toivonen hitting error and maintained a comfortable margin throughout the match. After training 28-20, Indiana did close to within 29-27 but the Fighting Illini closed out the game on a kill by junior middle blocker Lisa Argabright.
The outset of game two was much tighter as both teams were tied at 14-14. Illinois started to take control and scored seven consecutive points with sophomore Kathleen Bazzetta at the service line, grabbing a 25-16 lead before a kill by Indiana's Monique Pritz (Columbus, Ind./East) stemmed the tide. It was only for a moment, however, as Indiana never got closer than a 26-20 deficit.
Indiana cruised to a 30-18 victory in game three, racing to a 10-3 advantage and never looking back. The Hoosiers recorded a .316 hitting percentage in the third stanza, while the Illini could muster only a .067 efficiency.
The Hoosiers looked to ride the momentum of their easy third-game victory for the remainder of the match but it was Illinois that quickly regained momentum, securing an 8-3 lead out of the blocks. Indiana tied the game at 9-9 and both teams struggled to make any type of run until Illinois overcame an 18-16 deficit with six consecutive points to take a 22-18 lead. Indiana narrowed the lead to 27-27 on a Sue Weber attack error but could get no closer, losing the final frame, 30-26.
The NCAA Tournament pairings will be announced at 9:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, December 1. Shortly thereafter, Indiana's fate may be learned at iuhoosiers.com.
