Indiana University Athletics
Volleyball Hosts IU Credit Union Classic
9/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
September 19, 2002
Bloomington, Ind. - In its final tuneup prior to Wednesday's Big Ten home opener against Ohio State, the Indiana volleyball squad (7-2) will host Central Michigan, Butler, and No. 30 Louisville at this weekend's IU Credit Union Classic. All matches will be played at the University Gymnasium, which is located at 10th Street and the 45/46 Bypass. Indiana begins play vs. Central Michigan on Friday at 7:00 p.m.All four teams enter this weekend's tournament playing their finest volleyball of the season.
"We have to improve our serving this weekend," said 10th-year Indiana head coach Katie Weismiller. "Our passing (at last weekend's Terrapin Invitational) was really good but our serving has to improve and we can't allow as many service points. If they score a point or two, we have to get ourselves in position that we can stop a run. Defensively, I look for us to turn it up a notch and really start running down more balls and keeping more balls in play. We have some key players who have played well defensively but we've got to have better defensive play out of all six players."
Indiana is off to its seventh-best start in school history with a 7-2 record. The Hoosiers opened the 2002 campaign by winning the Northern Illinois Invitational and followed up their tournament winning performance in DeKalb by recording a 2-1 record at both the TIS/Taylor Imprinted Sportswear Classic in Bloomington and the Terrapin Invitational in College Park, Md.
Sophomore Christina Archibald (Belleville, Ill./West) has been very consistent throughout the fall for the Hoosiers. The 6-foot-2 outside hitter recorded a career-high 29 kills, with only seven errors on 58 total attempts (.379 hitting percentage) in an upset of Loyola Marymount this past weekend. To go along with her impressive kill total, the standout sophomore also displayed her all-around abilities as she recorded 18 digs, which was also a career-high, and five blocks. She has made the all-tourney team at every tournament this fall.
Indiana junior middle blocker Melissa Brewer (Bloomington, Ind./North), who was recognized as the Most Valuable Player at the Northern Illinois Invitational in late August, is an Academic All-America candidate and joins senior libero Hillary Toivonen (Muncie, Ind./Burris), juniors Nikki Hill (Muncie, Ind./Central) and Monique Pritz (Columbus, Ind./East), and sophomores Katie Pollom (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) and Victoria Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) in the starting lineup for the Hoosiers. Pollom and Toivonen have joined Brewer and Archibald by being named to at least one all-tournament team this fall. Zimmerman leads the Hoosiers with 13.24 assists per game.
While Indiana is certainly playing solid volleyball, it is Louisville (7-2) who is the tournament favorite. The Cardinals are ranked 30th in this week's USA Today/AVCA Coaches' Top 25 poll. Last weekend, the Cardinals won the University of Arkansas Morning News Invitational, defeating Oral Roberts, Arkansas, and Colorado State, turning in a four-game win over the 17th-ranked Rams.
"Louisville is definitely the team to beat in the tournament," said Weismiller. "They come in with a lot of international experience, a lot of experience on the court. They've got some players that can really terminate. For us, the key will be to keep balls in play and make them work harder. We have to make them block some balls because if our passing is on, hopefully they will have to work hard to block balls and play defense. They're definitely the team to beat."
In 2001, the Cards finished second in Conference USA and made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Three returnees earned all-conference honors last fall: senior outside hitter Sonja Percan, AVCA all-region, All-C-USA tournament, All-C-USA first team; senior middle blocker Stacey Mercer, All-C-USA; and junior outside hitter Anastasia Zaitseva, All-C-USA tournament. Indiana will play Louisville at 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening.
Indiana opens play on Friday at 7:00 p.m. vs. Central Michigan. The Chippewas will enter Friday's action with a 3-6 overall record, including wins over Austin Peay and Cincinnati at the Raider Challenge in Dayton, Ohio, last weekend. Senior middle hitter Kendra Devries leads the Chippewas. The Fremont, Mich., product has recorded a .352 hitting percentage in 2002 and is averaging 3.00 kills per game.
"I think (Central Michigan's) record is deceiving," said Weismiller. "I look at this team on tape and they're a pretty good team. They are very scrappy. They like to pursue balls and keep the ball in play, keep rallies going. They do a nice job with ball control and that's an area where we will need to terminate and terminate early."
On Saturday at noon, Indiana will face intrastate rival Butler (6-7), who enters this weekend's tournament playing its best volleyball of the year. This past weekend, the Bulldogs finished with a 2-1 record at the University of San Francisco's Golden Gate Classic. Butler defeated both USF and IPFW, 3-0, avenging a loss earlier in the year to the Fort Wayne-based school. Butler's only loss at the tournament was a to 25th-ranked Washington State. Butler finished fifth in the Horizon League in 2001 and the Bulldogs are led by senior middle blocker Keely Norris, a second-team All-Horizon League selection last fall, and sophomore outside hitter Kalie Carter, who was named to the All-Horizon League Newcomer team in 2001.
"Butler's an in-state school and they have always been a test for us," said Weismiller. "Butler comes in and Amanda Matthews, their setter, does a really nice job. I think if you look at the different hitters on their team, they spread out their offense so you just can't say so-and-so is a good hitter. They're playing well and they are going to be a tough team for us."
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