Indiana University Athletics
Texas Wins First-Round Tilt, 3-2
12/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
December 5, 2002
Tucson, Ariz.- Craziness. That's all that can describe tonight's first-round NCAA volleyball match between Indiana and Texas. Momentum made no difference. Indiana twice came back to tie the match, including a 38-36 win in game two and a 30-24 victory in the fourth game, but Texas outlasted the gritty Hoosiers, 15-10, in the fifth game to foil Indiana's upset bid, 3-2 (30-22, 36-38, 30-17, 24-30, 15-10), before 1,121 fans, including a large Indiana contingent, at the McKale Center.
It was surprising that momentum didn't play a bigger role as both teams combined featured only one senior, Indiana libero Hillary Toivonen.
"We knew this was going to be a battle," said head coach Katie Weismiller. "Texas' middle blockers, in particular Kathy Hahn, played extremely well and we made too many unforced errors. We were either on or we were struggling. There was really no in-between. It just didn't go our way tonight."
Hahn, who is only a sophomore, recorded 20 kills on the evening and an incredible .655 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Mira Topic notched a game-high 28 kills. Indiana sophomore middle blocker Katie Pollom (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) led the way for the Hoosiers with 18 kills, while sophomore Christina Archibald (Belleville, Ill./West) paced Indiana with a .353 hitting percentage. Playing with two stress fractures in her foot, the 6-foot-2 outside hitter recorded 16 kills to pass Anne Eastman (539 kills in 1994) and move into first place on Indiana's single-season kills list with 555. Juniors Melissa Brewer (Bloomington, Ind./North), a first-team All-Big Ten selection, and Nikki Hill (Muncie, Ind./Central) notched 16 and 15 kills, respectively. Texas tallied a .329 hitting percentage on the evening, exceeding the .400 mark in all three games it won.
"There is so much parity in college volleyball," said Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott. "We haven't been in too many five-game matches this season (four). We gave ourselves a chance, survived, and advanced."
In the deciding game five, the Hoosiers fell behind 2-0 but tied the game at two. Trailing 5-2, Indiana scored three consecutive points on a kill by Brewer and back-to-back kills by Hill that tied the game at five. Leading 8-6 when the two teams changed sides of the court, Texas recorded five of the next seven points scored between the two teams to take a 13-8 lead. Indiana cut the Texas lead to 13-9 on a kill by Pollom and trailed 14-10 following an Archibald kill but a Hahn kill, on an assist from Blotch, ended the match.
After losing game one, 30-22, Indiana rebounded nicely in game two, taking an early lead and holding on for a win, 38-36, in what amounted to an amazing second game. With Indiana fighting for its tournament life, the second game turned into a monumental struggle behind two highly competitive teams. While the Hoosiers did add six more service errors to their total during the second game, Indiana raced to a 6-2 lead before Texas tied the game at 10 on a kill by Bethany Howden. The two teams remained within three points of one another for the remainder of the match. Following a 15-15 tie midway through the match, Texas made a mini-run and took a 20-17 lead on an attack error by Pollom. Indiana eventually tied the game at 23 and the two teams played to ties at 25, 27, and 28, before Texas took a 29-28 lead.
With Indiana trailing 29-28, sophomore setter Victoria Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) amazingly kept a ball alive, allowing Indiana an opportunity to send the ball to Texas' side of the net. The Longhorns failed to capitalize and Indiana tied the game on a setting error by freshman Caron Blotch, who is a product of Franklin, Ind. The Hoosiers again fell behind, 31-30, an attack error by Archibald but tied the game at 31 on a kill by Zimmerman. With Texas leading 36-35, the Longhorns attacked for the kill but Pollom blocked the Texas attempt to tie the game again, this time at 36. Indiana grabbed a 37-36 lead on a kill by Hill that was assisted by Brewer and won game two, 38-36, on an attack error by Hahn.
A 10-minute break between games one and two didn't bode well for the Hoosiers as the Longhorns pounded Indiana, 30-17. The game was never close as Texas grabbed a 20-10 lead and never looked back, recording a .464 hitting percentage.
"They were definitely very talented," said Pollom. "Their middles played exceptionally well throughout the match."
Like game two, Indiana recovered quickly, this time from its third-game loss and went ahead, 14-10, on a bad set by the Longhorns. Texas was never able to tie or lead for the remainder of the game. Leading 15-12, the Hoosiers extended their lead to 22-15 on a kill by Hill and Texas never got closer than a five-point deficit, 27-22. Indiana closed out the game, 30-24, on a kill by Hill.
Tonight's loss ends the season for the Hoosiers and the illustrious career of senior Hillary Toivonen (Muncie, Ind./Central). The Hoosiers finished the season winning 12 more games than it did in 2001.
