Indiana University Athletics
Undefeatd Maryland Drops Hoosiers
9/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
September 13, 2002
College Park, Md. - Prior to the first day of action at the 2002 Terrapin Invitational, Indiana and the Maryland Terrapins had combined to win 38 of 45 games this fall. In doing so, Maryland had raced to a 7-0 record, while Indiana had recorded a 5-1 mark, its sixth-best start in school history.
With the entire Maryland campus community eagerly anticipating tomorrow's football game between the Terrapins and Florida State, Indiana was well aware that it was going to have to play its best volleyball of the season to defeat its upstart Atlantic Coast Conference opponent. Yet, while certainly competitive, the Hoosiers struggled during stretches in all three games and couldn't overcome lapses - both mental and physical - as it fell 30-28, 30-27, and 30-26 before 387 partisan Terrapin fans at Ritchie Coliseum on the University of Maryland campus.
"We got beat by a team that outhustled us," said head coach Katie Weismiller. "You've got to give so much credit to Maryland because they came out and they played. They were aggressive and they worked hard."
In the first game, the two teams were tied at 5-5, 10-10, and 15-15, before a kill by junior outside hitter Nikki Hill (Muncie, Ind./Central) gave Indiana a 21-19 lead. The Hoosiers (5-2) extended their advantage to 22-19 before a kill and a service ace by junior outside hitter Lynnsy Jones tied the game at 26-26. The Maryland standout was dominant throughout the game, both as an attacker and from the service line. After Maryland (8-0) evened the game, Indiana only managed one more lead, 27-26, on a kill by junior Academic All-America candidate Melissa Brewer (Bloomington, Ind./North). The Terrapins went on to win the game, 30-28, and outhit the Hoosiers, .286-.256.
"We started out giving away a lot of points at the serving line," said Weismiller. "We made some early errors and we were never really able to get back into the flow of the game. IU has a lot of confidence but we can't dig ourselves a hole to start with. I think that's what happened tonight."
After dropping game one, Indiana did not respond well and fell behind 11-3 to begin the second game. Again it was the "Lynnsy Jones Show" as the Castro Valley, Calif., product displayed time and time again why she had been recognized as the Most Valuable Player at both the Maryland Invitational and James Madison Invitational earlier this season. However, sophomore Christina Archibald (Belleville, Ill./West) refused to let the Terps run away and hide. For the greater portion of the second stanza, Jones and Archibald used almost every possibly opportunity to prove that they were the two best athletes on the floor.
After trailing 11-3 in the second game, Indiana closed to within 14-11 on a kill by sophomore captain Katie Pollom (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) and pulled to within two points, 15-13, on a block by Pollom and Archibald. Trailing 18-14, Indiana scored the next three points on kills by Archibald and eventually tied the game, 22-22, on a block by Pollom. After again tying the game, 24-24, on another kill by Archibald, Maryland's Jones answered with a kill of her own to put the Terrapins back in front. Indiana again tied the game, 27-27, yet the Terrapins rattled off the next three points to win the stanza. Through two games, Hill led the Hoosiers with a .375 hitting percentage. Indiana head coach Katie Weismiller tried to push buttons to energize the Hoosiers throughout the second game as freshmen Mandy Eberle (Sussex, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) and Ashley White (St. Charles, Ill/East) played extensively.
"Give credit to Maryland," said Weismiller. "They have some really nice attackers for them that got the job done. I thought Christina played well for us and both she and Jones for Maryland put on an impressive display of volleyball throughout the match."
Maryland continued to put the throttle to the floor in the third game, taking a 4-0 lead on a kill by Jones. The Hoosiers couldn't stem the tide. Maryland extended its lead to 6-1 before Indiana pulled to within one point, trailing only 8-7. Again, success from the service line was tough to come by for the Hoosiers as Maryland regained the lead on a service error by Brewer. After tying the game, 12-12, Indiana looked disheveled for an extended stretch, allowing the Terrapins to take a 17-13 lead. The Terrapin run prompted Weismiller to call time out. After a kill by Hill closed the Hoosiers to within 17-14, Maryland went on to grab a 23-15 lead before the IU head coach decided to call another timeout. Indiana then fell behind 26-19 only to answer the Terps by pulling to within 26-22. Following a time out by Maryland, Indiana continued its comeback and closed to within two points, 27-25, but Maryland scored three of the next four points between the two teams to win the third and deciding game, 30-26.
Indiana returns to action tomorrow, Saturday, September 14, for matches against Loyola Marymount at 1:00 p.m. EDT/12:00 p.m. EST and Boston College 5:00 p.m. EDT/4:00 p.m. EST.
