Indiana University Athletics
IU Upsets Louisville
9/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
September 21, 2002
Bloomington, Ind. - In its finest outing of the season to date, the Indiana volleyball squad turned in a tremendous performance in an upset of No. 30 Louisville in the finale of the IU Credit Union Classic at the University Gymnasium on Saturday. Indiana won by the score of 30-18, 30-25, 30-32, 30-22. The win improved Indiana's record to 10-2 heading into Wednesday's Big Ten opener at home vs. Ohio State. The victory was an impressive one for the Hoosiers as Louisville had already defeated Arizona and Colorado State earlier in the season. The Cardinals defeated Arizona, who was ranked sixth nationally at the time, 3-0, and defeated 17th-ranked Colorado State last weekend, 3-1."That's the way I expect this team to play," said Indiana head coach Katie Weismiller. "That's what I think we have in us. The key for us was running a fast offense and our passing allowed us to do that today. We came to play and stuck to the game plan."
Sophomore middle blocker Katie Pollom (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral), junior middle blocker Melissa Brewer (Bloomington, Ind./North) and sophomore outside hitter Christina Archibald (Belleville, Ill./West) recorded hitting percentages of .500, .462, and .360, respectively as Indiana hit .308 as a team, including .417 in a losing effort in game three and .346 in game four.
Indiana (10-2) was virtually flawless in game one, consistently putting the pressure on the, at times, overwhelmed Cardinals (9-3). Archibald, the tournament Most Valuable Player, was the catalyst for the Hoosiers as she scored five of the Hoosiers first eight points on powerful kills that energized a raucous home crowd of 730. Leading 10-7, Pollom was virtually flawless from the service line and the Hoosiers went on a long run and grabbed an insurmountable 21-9 lead. After the Hoosiers had secured a 25-13 advantage on a block assist by Brewer and junior Monique Pritz (Columbus, Ind./East), the latter of whom recorded four block assists through the match's first two games, another Archibald assist gave the Hoosiers a 26-13 lead. Indiana cruised to a 30-18 victory.
The second game, although more tightly contested, was very similar to the first as the Hoosiers continued to put a great deal of pressure on Louisville with powerful attacks and timely blocking. With Indiana leading 19-18, Brewer and Pritz again went to work, recording back-to-back block assists that gave the Hoosiers a three-point advantage. A service ace by Archibald, followed by a kill and an ace by Brewer, pushed IU's lead to 24-19. Louisville pulled to within 28-24 on a kill by sophomore Bing Sun. Indiana, however, scored two of the next three points to win 30-25.
The third game may have been as hotly contested as any all year for the Hoosiers. Both teams were tied throughout the early part of the match and remained tied at 15-15, 21-21, and 28-28, before Indiana grabbed a 30-29 advantage on a kill by Archibald. Louisville extended the match, however, scoring on an ace by junior outside hitter Anastasia Zaitseva and a kill by Sun to win, 32-30.
The Hoosiers certainly look deterred as they jumped to a 12-1 lead on back-to-back kills by Archibald. Louisville closed to within six points, 21-15, but Indiana continued to extend the lead and went on to win the game, 30-22, and secure the match.
"We came out and really played well in game four," said Weismiller. "Christina (Archibald) had a tremendous weekend and we did what we had to do - run a fast offense, played defense, and terminated."
The following individuals were named to the IU Credit Union Classic All-Tournament Team:
Christina Archibald, Indiana (Most Valuable Player)
Melissa Brewer, Indiana
Nikki Hill, Indiana
Lena Ustymenko, Louisville
Bing Sun, Louisville
Amanda Matthews, Butler
Players Mentioned
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