Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Upsets Loyola Marymount, 3-2
9/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
September 14, 2002
College Park, Md. - What a difference one week makes.After blowing a 2-1 lead against Dayton a week ago Friday, it potentially looked like déjà vu for Indiana against Loyola Marymount today. The Hoosiers jumped to an impressive 2-1 lead, while playing some of its best volleyball of the season, only to turn in a disastrous fourth game, losing 30-16. Yet, unlike the match against the Flyers on September 6, Indiana (6-2) played tremendous volleyball in the fifth and deciding match today and went on to a 30-28, 28-30, 30-28, 16-30, 15-10 victory. In that fifth match, 12 of Indiana's 15 points were recorded on kills. The win was Indiana's first in five attempts in school history against LMU (6-2), including losses in each of the past two years. Indiana's Christina Archibald (Belleville, Ill./West) was dominant throughout today's match and set a career-high with 29 kills.
"We definitely had a learning lesson a week ago against Dayton," said Weismiller. "I think in game five today we were focused and ready to go. I wasn't surprised that we came out and played as well as we did."
The cover of the Loyola Marymount media guide screams volleyball. Several LMU standouts are featured on the cover of the yearbook, which features pristine images of the Pacific Ocean in the background. With this type of recruiting tool, it is no wonder that the Los Angeles-based school, which most recently won its own Invitational this past weekend with wins over highly regarded Notre Dame and Colorado, received 34 votes in this week's USA Today/AVCA Collegiate Volleyball poll. But unlike the last two years, this year's Indiana team looks to have the firepower to compete with many of the top teams in the nation.
"Christina played a great match today," said head coach Katie Weismiller. "We really needed to go out and beat them. We knew we had to get the ball to Christina and she was terminating even with two or three blockers in her face. I though Hillary (Toivonen) also passed the ball extremely well and we also got some really good play out of Beth Heimann. This is a big win for us."
Sophomore captain Katie Pollom (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) showed up ready to play for the Hoosiers, scoring four of IU's first 10 points, three on kills and an additional point on a block as the two teams tied at 11-11. Midway through the first game, Archibald took over, recording kills to give the Hoosiers leads of 13-12, 14-13, and 15-14. Indiana had taken a 19-15 advantage before LMU head coach Steve Stratos called timeout to regroup his team. The stoppage in play seemed to energize the Lions as the IU lead was quickly narrowed to 23-22.
Throughout the first game, senior libero Hillary Toivonen (Muncie, Ind./Burris) consistently dug difficult LMU attacks and sophomore setter Victoria Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) kept the IU offense running efficiently. After Loyola had closed to within one point, 24-23, Indiana jumped to a 28-25 lead on a kill by Archibald. The Hoosiers went on to seal the game, 30-28, on a successful hitting attempt by junior Academic All-America candidate Melissa Brewer (Bloomington, Ind./North).
In each of the past two seasons, Loyola Marymount has been a thorn in the side of the Hoosiers. During the 2000 season it was the 20th-ranked Lions who spoiled Indiana's seven-match winning streak to begin the season by defeating head coach Katie Weismiller's charges, 3-0, in the opening match of the IU Credit Union/Individual Invitational. Last September, Indiana traveled to Los Angeles and also won the first game against the Lions only to see LMU go on to win the match, 3-1.
The second game of today's match was much like several other games for the Hoosiers this season as Indiana took a lead in the early to mid-20s only to see an opponent come back to win. Today, Indiana led 24-20 only to see the Lions come back to win the stanza, 30-28. Indiana had tied the game, 28-28, on a kill by Archibald but Loyola scored the next two points to win the game.
Trailing 7-6 in game two, Archibald again went to work for the Hoosiers. She tied the game on a kill, provided the Hoosiers with a 9-8 lead on another successful attack, and advanced Indiana's effort to 10-8 on an ace. An ace by junior Nikki Hill (Muncie, Ind./Central) gave IU a 16-11 lead. Again, throughout the second game, Toivonen played tremendous defense for the Hoosiers as Indiana's passing game was as effective as it has been all season to date. As Indiana looked to extend the lead, its service errors that had hampered the squad against the Terrapins last evening began to surface. After trailing 19-13, Loyola pulled to within 20-18 on a kill by senior outside hitter Kristen Gallup, a 2001 All-Big West honoree who finished the match with 26 kills. After Loyola Marymount pulled to within 21-20, sophomore Beth Heimann (Decatur, Ind./Bellmont) gave IU a four-point lead, 24-20, on a service ace. LMU certainly wasn't flustered as it scored the next five points to take a 25-24 advantage and went on to win the game, 30-28.
With Indiana's psyche being tested, LMU looked to apply the knockout punch in game three but the Hoosiers were not deterred. Indiana took a 9-7 lead on a kill by junior Monique Pritz (Columbus, Ind./East) and a 11-7 advantage on a block by Pritz and Brewer. Five times during the third game Indiana took four point leads but could not push its advantage to five points, with the exception of a 13-8 lead early in the match. For the third consecutive game, Indiana was the first team to 20 points, taking a 20-17 lead on yet another kill by Archibald. After LMU pulled to within one point, Indiana answered with back-to-back points on kills by Brewer and Pritz to take a 28-25 lead and went on to win the game, 30-27.
The start of the fourth game looked much like last night's match against Maryland. Early in the fourth stanza, the Hoosiers were not sharp in any facet of the game. LMU took advantage, never looking back after taking a 10-2 lead. LMU extended its lead to 21-10 as Indiana looked listless. Indiana pulled to within eight points, 21-13, on an attack error but got no closer than a 21-14 deficit and dropped the game 30-16.
In the fifth and deciding game, the Indiana offense went back to playing its game and quickly found Archibald, whose back-to-back kills gave the Hoosiers a 3-2 lead. After falling behind 5-3, Indiana tied the game on another kill by the standout sophomore. With each point crucial, a tip by Pritz extended the IU lead to 7-5. After a LMU timeout, Archibald again recorded a kill and the two teams switched sides of the court. One week ago against Dayton, Indiana had held an 8-1 lead on the side change, but went on to lose the match. Indiana extended its lead to 12-8 on a block by Hill. The Hoosier lead was immediately cut to two points but Hill answered again, pushing the lead to 13-10. Pollom recorded back-to-back kills to win the fifth game, 15-10.
Indiana's final match of the Terrapin Invitational is a 5:00 p.m. EDT/4:00 p.m. EST meeting with Boston College. It is the first match ever between Indiana and the Big East Conference school.
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INDIANA COMES BACK TO DEFEAT BOSTON COLLEGE, 3-2
College Park, Md. -- Minutes after Indiana upset Loyola Marymount in its first match of the day on Saturday at the Terrapin Invitational, IU head coach Katie Weismiller told her players to enjoy it for about about 30 minutes before preparing for their next match of the day against Boston College. The Hoosiers did celebrate too long but to their credit came back to win the tightly contested, yet not always well played, match, 28-30, 30-28, 28-30, 30-18, 15-13. Indiana finishes the Terrapin Invitational with a 2-1 record, winning Saturday matches against Loyola Marymount and Boston College, while losing last night to Maryland.
"I couldn't be happier that we come out with two wins," said head coach Katie Weismiller. "Conditioning played an important part being able to play back-to-back matches. We knew the schedule was tight. We didn't play to our ability tonight but did display a lot of character, mentally, the way we came back and fought."
In today's first game against BC, the Eagles (4-5) jumped to a 11-7 lead and increased its advantage to 27-21 late in the stanza. Indiana attempted to rally on two kills each by juniorsMonique Pritz (Columbus, Ind./East) and Nikki Hill (Muncie, Ind./Central), closing the BC lead to 28-27. The Eagles closed out the first game on a rotation violation that was called against the Hoosiers.
In the second game, Indiana (7-2) got out of the starting blocks in a hurry, securing a 14-6 lead on a kill by sophomore captain Katie Pollom (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral). Pollom Midway through the match, with the Hoosiers leading 14-9, Indiana tallied a point that everyone at the scorer's table recognized but the official scorer, who lost track of the score. It almost came back to haunt the Hoosiers. Leading 20-15, the Eagles eventually tied the game at 22-22 and again at 28-28, before the Hoosiers tallied the final two points of the game to earn the 30-28 win.
Boston College continued to put pressure on the Hoosiers in the third game as Indiana tried to emotionally engage itself in the match. A kill by Boston College sophomore outside hitter Katie Anderson gave Boston College a 14-9 lead. Indiana drew to within three points on back-to-back kills by Hill and sophomore Christina Archibald (Belleville, Ill./West) and narrowed the gap to 17-15 on a block by Pollom. After trailing 25-20, Indiana scored three consecutive points when two kills by Hill sandwiched another block by Pollom. Indiana tied the game, 25-25, causing BC head coach Jackie Hadel to call timeout. Indiana again fell behind, 27-25, but scored the next two points to tie the game. With Indiana leading 28-27, Hill and Heimann both recorded service errors and BC went on to win the game, 30-28, to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Indiana responded well in game four and looked much more like the team that had defeated Loyola Marymount earlier in the day. After the game was tied, 5-5, Indiana steadily increased its lead throughout much of the fourth game as its blocking and hitting ability began to wear down the Eagles. Boston College pulled to within 19-14 but back-to-back kills by Pollom and Hill gave IU a 21-14 advantage. Indiana went on to win the game, 30-18, and send the match to the fifth and deciding game.
Boston College just wouldn't go away, scoring the first two points of the fifth game before Indiana tied the game, 2-2, on a great defensive play by Hillary Toivonen (Muncie, Ind./Burris) and a kill by Archibald. The Hoosiers then rattled off two more points on back-to-back kills by Pollom. The two teams traded sides of the court with the Eagles leading 8-7 and BC scored the next two points to take a 10-7 lead. Boston College maintained a 12-9 lead but saw the Hoosiers score three consecutive points on a kill be Hill, a service ace by Brewer, and a hitting error by the Eagles. A kill by Pollom gave IU a 13-12 lead and BC called timeout. After BC had tied the game at 13-13, Pollom recorded a kill after handling a bad set by Zimmerman and Hill closed out the match on a thunderous kill.
Indiana returns to action on Friday, September 20, vs. Central Michigan. Match time is set for 7:00 p.m.
