Indiana University Athletics
IU Too Much for Wolverines
11/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
November 9, 2002
Indiana defeats No. 26 MSU and No. 27 UM
Bloomington, Ind. - Indiana inched ever closer to an at-large NCAA Tournament bid and a national ranking with a 3-2 (30-19, 29-31, 26-30, 30-21, 15-13) victory over No. 27 Michigan before 1,000 spectators at University Gymnasium this evening. The win followed closely on the heels of last night's 3-0 win over No. 26 Michigan State and extended Indiana's Big Ten winning streak to three matches. In tonight's match, Indiana overcame a 2-1 deficit by winning game four, 30-21, and the deciding fifth-game, 15-13. Sophomore outside hitter Christina Archibald (Belleville, Ill./West) recorded a match-high 26 kills and sophomore middle blocker Katie Pollom (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) tallied a career-high 23 kills.
With this evening's victory, Indiana improves to 18-8 overall and 8-6 in the Big Ten Conference. The 8-6 conference mark is Indiana's best Big Ten start since the 1995 campaign, a season that saw the Hoosiers record a 12-8 Big Ten mark and earn an NCAA Tournament bid. That season, the Hoosiers also began the Big Ten campaign 8-6 and went on to win its next four matches, before closing the league campaign with two losses.
Michigan (14-10 overall, 8-6 Big Ten) was led by sophomore Jennifer Gandolph, a product of Greenwood, Ind., who recorded a team-high 21 kills and a .319 hitting percentage. Sophomore setter Lisa Gamalski recorded 63 assists, while efficiently running the Wolverine offense.
"It feels great to finish," said the 6-foot-3 Pollom. "We played extremely well at different times tonight, and struggled at times as well, but we regained the momentum in game four and finished well in game five."
Unlike several other matches earlier this season when Indiana jumped to a quick lead in game five only to pull away and secure the victory, the Hoosiers trailed 10-7 in the fifth game of tonight's contest, before eventually tying the game, 10-10. Indiana went on to score five of the next eight points between the two teams to secure the 15-13 victory. Junior Academic All-America candidate Melissa Brewer (Bloomington, Ind./North) closed out the fifth match with a kill on an assist from sophomore setter Victoria Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington). Brewer recorded 18 kills on the evening and hit at a .471 clip. Zimmerman recorded 71 assists, only two shy of her career-high, which was set early this year at Purdue.
"For this team, serving and passing are the keys for us to be successful," said head coach Katie Weismiller. "We also played very well defensively this evening. We recorded 24 digs in the first game and that seemed to set the tone for the entire evening."
Indiana quickly established itself early in the first game, securing a 7-0 advantage to begin the match, behind the strength of junior outside hitter Nikki Hill (Muncie, Ind./Central), who recorded two service aces during the seven-point run. She finished the evening with five aces. Indiana extended its lead to 15-5 on a kill by Pollom and Michigan never got closer than a 25-17 deficit late in the first game.
After easily winning game one, Michigan more than let the Wolverines back into the match. Michigan won game two 31-29, overcoming a 28-25 deficit to tie the match at 1-1. Michigan extended its lead to 2-1, winning game three by the score of 30-26. Game three was tied at 26-26, however, Michigan scored the final four points of the game to secue the 30-26 win and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
With its back to the wall, Indiana overcame an early deficit to tie game four at 6-6. Indiana scored 14 of the next 17 points between the two teams to take an insurmountable 20-9 lead. Michigan got no closer than a 22-15 deficit on a service error by Brewer. Indiana recorded a .206 hitting percentage in game four, while the Wolverines managed only a .048 hitting efficiency.
Game five saw the Hoosiers outhit Michigan, .391-.381.
Indiana returns to Big Ten action on Wednesday as it travels to Columbus, OH, to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. EST. Indiana will return to Bloomington on Saturday, November 16, when it hosts Penn State at the University Gymnasium.
