Hoosiers Head to Purdue

10/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

October 14, 2003

Bloomington, Ind. - The Indiana volleyball team looks to rebound after two Big Ten losses last weekend when it heads to West Lafayette, Ind., for a battle with intrastate rival Purdue. The match is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday night.

IU (9-8. 2-4 Big Ten) looks to continue its dominance over the Boilermakers, who enter the match 12-5 and 4-2 in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers have won the last four meetings between the two teams, including the last two at Purdue, and have won eight of the last nine matchups in the series. Indiana head coach Katie Weismiller is 15-5 in her career against the Boilermakers.

After Purdue, the Hoosiers return home for a matchup against #23 Wisconisn. The Badgers enter the weekend with a 12-5 record and a 4-2 mark in the conference. Match time is 7:00 pm., Saturday at University Gym.

HOOSIER REPORT
The Hoosiers look to bounce back this week after dropping a pair of Big Ten matches last weekend. Friday, Indiana fell to Michigan in three games and on Saturday, IU lost to then-No. 16 Michigan State in four games.
Junior Christina Archibald finished with match-high kills against the Wolverines (14) and the Spartans (17). She has now posted 28 consecutive matches with at least 10 kills. Freshman Katy Jo Mroski continued to see increased playing time, striking a career-high eight kills and hitting .417 against MSU.
Indiana is now 9-8 overall this season and sits at 2-4 in the conference.

HOOSIER OPPONENTS
Purdue: The Boilermakers (11-5) head into this weekend with a 4-2 record in the Big Ten, winners of seven of their last 10 matches . Purdue split a pair of home matches last weekend after sweeping then-No. 16 Michigan State, and falling to Michigan in five games. The Boilermakers are 4-2 in the Big Ten for the first time since 1990 and are one win shy of equaling last year's total of 12 victories.
Purdue is led by junior Kim McConaha, who leads the team with 215 kills, 67 blocks assists and 74 total blocks. In addition to McConaha, junior Kim Cappa helped lead the Boilermakers over MSU hitting .455 with 12 kills.

Wisconsin: The Badgers come into Bloomington ranked No. 23 in the latest USA Today/AVCA Top 25 poll. Entering the weekend, Wisconsin holds a 12-5 overall record and a 4-2 conference mark, good for a five-way tie for second place in the Big Ten. The Badgers swept Iowa before losing a five-game heartbreaker to Minnesota 27-30, 30-26, 30-22, 23-30, 15-11 in Madison, Wis.
Freshman Amy Baldow is coming off an impressive weekend where she tied her career-high with 14 kills against the Golden Gophers. Against Iowa, she tied her career-high with eight blocks. The Badgers are led by junior Jill Odenthal, who leads the team with 225 kills and a .381 hitting percentage.
Additionally, sophomore Sheila Shaw ranks sixth in the conference with a .326 hitting percentage and is second in the league averaging 0.48 service aces per game.

Head Coach Katie Weismiller
The winningest volleyball coach in Indiana University history, Katie Weismiller has completely changed the fortunes of the IU volleyball program during her 10 years in Bloomington. Now in her 11th season, Weismiller has led the Hoosiers to three NCAA Tournaments in the last five years, including an NCAA berth last fall. Last year's appearance marked the fourth time in the program's history, (all under Weismiller), an Indiana team advanced to the postseason. After taking over a program that was 6-23 prior to her arrival, Weismiller led the Hoosiers to a .500 record in her second season in Bloomington. In her third season, the Hoosiers finished with a 20-14 overall mark, a 12-8 record in the Big Ten Conference, and earned the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament bid. Indiana made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1998 and 1999, advancing to the second round on both occasions. Prior to Indiana, Weismiller was the head coach at Saint Louis University (1989-90), and an assistant at the University of Florida (1991-92).

Assistant Coach Cydryce Carter
Carter is in her second season as an assistant coach at Indiana after spending two seasons as an assistant at Southwest Texas State. Carter coordinates Indiana's recruiting efforts in addition to her on-court responsibilities, which include working with the Hoosiers' middle blockers. Carter's impact was felt immediately in 2002 as she helped lead the Hoosiers to the NCAA Tournament. As a standout player at Indiana, Carter finished her career among Indiana's top 10 in digs, service aces, block assists and total blocks. She twice earned Academic All-America honors.

Assistant Coach Ryan Theis
Theis is in his second season at Indiana. In his first season, the Hoosiers won 12 more matches than they did in 2001. In addition to his on-court duties, Theis is responsible for a number of administrative functions including team travel, equipment and recruiting. Prior to his arrival at Indiana, Theis spent two seasons as the top assistant for the women's volleyball program at Eastern Illinois University. In 2001, he helped lead the Panthers to a 21-9 overall mark, an Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth.

Against Purdue and Wisconsin
Indiana went 3-1 against Purdue and Wisconsin in Big Ten play last season. The Hoosiers were 2-0 against the Boilermakers and 1-1 against the Badgers, winning at University Gym and falling at Wisconsin. Here are results from last season's four matches:

2002 Against Purdue:
Date W/L H/A Score
10/4/02 W A 30-23, 31-33, 23-30, 30-16, 15-12
11/9/02 W H 30-23, 30-28, 30-24

2002 Against Wisconsin:
Date W/L H/A Score
10/5/02 W H 30-26, 26-30, 31-29, 26-30, 15-11
11/8/02 L A 21-30, 24-30, 28-30

Intrastate Battle
The Hoosiers head into West Lafayette, Ind., against intrastate rival Purdue riding a recent wave of success against the Boilermakers. Indiana has won eight of the last nine matches between the teams, including the last two matches at Purdue. Indiana head coach Katie Weismiller has been extremely successful against the Boilermakers in her career. In 20 matches, Weismiller and the Hoosiers hold a 15-5 advantage over Purdue, holding a 6-4 advantage in West Lafayette, Ind., and a dominant 9-1 record in Bloomington, Ind.

On Nov. 26, at University Gym, the two teams will compete for the Monon Spike, the traveling trophy given to the victorious team in the match. The Hoosiers have held the trophy the last two seasons and three of the last four years.

Home Sweet Home
After Wednesday's battle against Purdue, the Hoosiers head home for a matchup against No. 23 Wisconsin. Thus far this season, IU holds a 7-3 record at home, including a win over then-No. 18 Minnesota and the championship of the IU Credit Union Invitational. The home court has been a welcome relief to Indiana, which holds a 0-4 mark on the road and a 2-1 record on neutral courts.

Against Ranked Opponents
Wisconsin enters the weekend ranked No. 23 in the nation. IU is 1-3 against ranked opponents this season, sweeping then-No. 18 Minnesota and falling to then-No. 15 Notre Dame, 3-1 at the Notre Dame Shamrock Invitational, at then No. 11 Penn State, 3-0, and then-No. 16 Michigan State, 3-1.

.300 Is The Mark
The Hoosiers are 7-0 when they hit .300 in a match and 2-8 when they do not reach the .300 mark. IU's highest single-match hitting percentage of .358 came in the Hoosiers three-game sweep of IUPUI in the opening match of the TIS/Taylor Invitational, and its highest single-game hitting percentage of .562 came against South Carolina at the Notre Dame Shamrock Invitational.

Dominant Defense
In 17 matches this season, the Hoosiers have only allowed two opponents to hit .300 in a match. Overall, Indiana has held six opponents under the .200 plateau, going 6-0 in those matches, and the Hoosiers held IUPUI to a season-best .054 hitting percentage in their three-game victory.
Moving Up The Charts
Several Hoosiers are moving up the career lists in the IU record books. Christina Archibald, Melissa Brewer, junior Katie Pollom and junior Victoria Zimmerman are all moving up the all-time ranks. Archibald has moved into the top 10 in kills while Brewer ranks in the top 10 in kills, block assists and total blocks. She needs six block assists to break current IU assistant coach Cydryce Carter's record and eight kills to move into third place. Pollom has entered the top 10 in block assists and entered the top 10 in total blocks against then-No. 11 Penn State. Zimmerman sits in sixth place in assists. Here is where the foursome sits in the record books:

Kills
4th Melissa Brewer - 1,374
8th Christina Archibald - 1,203

Assists
6th Victoria Zimmerman - 2,590

Block Assists
2nd Melissa Brewer - 400
6th Katie Pollom - 242

Total Blocks
3rd Brewer - 441
T-7th Pollom - 275

Double-Digit Streak Hits 28
Christina Archibald recorded double-digit kills in both matches last weekend. She has reached the 10-kill mark in all 17 matches this season, and dating back to last season, Archibald has notched at least 10 kills in 28 consecutive matches.

Double-Double
Christina Archibald captured her fifth double-double of the season after nailing 13 kills and corralling 10 digs in the Hoosiers' three-game victory over Iowa on Sept. 27. Last season, the Belleville, Ill., native recorded 11 double-doubles and now has 24 in her career.

Setter Victoria Zimmerman leads the team with six double-doubles this year. In 2002, she garnered 10 double-doubles and now has 16 in her career, second on the team to Archibald's 24.

Big Ten Leaders
Through the first 17 matches of the season, Christina Archibald and Beth Heimann are among the Big Ten leaders in four statistical categories. Archibald is tied for second in the conference with 284 kills and ranks third in the league averaging 4.44 kills per game. Meanwhile, Heimann ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 200 digs and sits in fifth place averaging 3.23 digs per game. In conference games, Monique Pritz leads the league with a .438 hitting percentage, and Archibald ranks eighth with 4.21 kills per game. Nikki Hill sits third in the conference averaging 0.50 service aces per game while teammate Lindsay Cochrane ranks fifth averaging 0.37 service aces per game.

Brewer Academic All-America Candidate
Melissa Brewer, a first-team All-Big Ten selection last season, is a leading candidate for Academic All-America honors. The Bloomington, Ind., native was named to the Verizon Academic All-District V Volleyball First Team for the second consecutive season in 2002. Additionally, Brewer was one of eight Hoosiers to earn a spot on the Academic All-Big Ten team. On the court, the senior middle blocker became the sixth Hoosier in the program's history and the first since Anne Eastman and Lynn Crawley (1994) to earn Mideast All-Region honors in 2002.

Two-Sport Star
In addition to her volleyball duties, Christina Archibald is a member of the IU track and field team. During the spring of 2002, Archibald finished in a fourth place tie in the high jump at the Big Ten Championship with a leap of 5'7 3/4''. The jump tied her for the best finish in the event by a freshman. The Belleville, Ill., native took last track season off to rehabilitate a foot injury.

Pollom Pounding Away
Middle blocker Katie Pollom is off to a great start in the 2003 campaign. The Indianapolis, Ind., native leads the team with 12 block solos and 16 service aces while ranking second with 42 block assists and 54 total blocks. She also sits third on the squad with 159 kills, 2.79 kills per game and a .282 hitting percentage. The junior was named honorable mention All-Big Ten last season after setting an IU single-season record for total blocks (153), and tying current IU assistant coach Cydryce Carter for first on the single-season block assists list (139). Pollom finished third on the team in kills with 446, which ranks seventh all-time on the Hoosiers' single-season list.

Zimmerman Runs the Show
Running the show for Indiana is setter Victoria Zimmerman. During the Hoosiers' matches against Michigan and then No. 16 Michigan State last weekend, Zimmerman distributed 57 assists with seven digs against MSU while recording seven digs and three total blocks against Michigan. Overall this season, the junior has dished out 12.78 assists per game to go along with 159 digs (second on the team), 56 kills and 23 block assists. Last season, displaying great leadership and excitement on the court, Zimmerman set the single-season school record with 1,765 assists. She ranked ninth nationally with 13.58 assists per game and is an All-Big Ten candidate this season.

Heimann Gets Defensive
Junior Beth Heimann has picked up where departed senior Hillary Toivonen left off. She has been a catalyst on the defense registering a team-high 200 digs, averaging 3.23 digs per game appearing in 62 of the team's 64 games as the Hoosier libero.
In addition, the Decatur, Ind., native has gathered 10 or more digs in ten of Indiana's 17 matches this season. Including the final five matches of last season, Heimann has reached the 10-dig plateau in 14 of her last 22 matches. After taking a one-year hiatus from the squad, Heimann returned to the team just weeks prior to the start of the 2002 season. She appeared in all 33 matches and recorded 253 digs, fifth-best on the team.

Pritz Sees Increase In Action
Senior Monique Pritz shined during the offseason and has continued her impressive play into the regular season. Pritz has seen action in all 64 games, pounding 110 kills, hitting .321 (first on the team) and adding 33 block assists, good for fourth on the team. Against then-No. 16 Michigan State, the Columbus, Ind., native hit .750, recording 12 kills on 16 attempts with no errors. She also holds the Hoosiers highest hitting percentage of .889, drilling eight kills on nine attempts with no errors in a victory against then No. 18 Minnesota. Head coach Katie Weismiller has been pleased with the senior's progress. Her play on the right side has been tremendous, and she will continue to be called upon this season.

White A Pleasant Surprise
One of the brightest positives from Indiana's performance this season has been the play of sophomore Ashley White. Appearing in only 18 games last season, the St. Charles, Ill., native has appeared in 56 of the team's 64 games this season.
White has contributed 105 kills, fifth on the team, participating in each of the team's 17 matches this season. In the Big Ten openers against then-No. 18 Minnesota and Iowa, White recorded 17 kills, hitting .317, in the Hoosiers' victories. With her increased playing time, White has terminated 96 more kills than last season, the most significant improvement on the team.

Hill Fights Through Knee Injury
After undergoing surgery just prior to spring break (2003), senior Nikki Hill has looked refreshed and provided IU with a spark this season. Hill has appeared in 56 of the team's 64 games and started 15 of the team's 17 matches. She ranks fourth on the team behind Heimann, Zimmerman and Archibald with 109 digs. In the Hoosiers' Big Ten matches against then-No. 16 Michigan State and Michigan, the Muncie, Ind., native corralled 14 digs and delivered two service aces.

Fantastic Freshmen
Freshmen defensive specialists Sara Diehl and Lindsay Cochrane and outside hitter Katy Jo Mroski have seen increased playing time in the last month and have seen playing time in the Hoosier rotation. Cochrane has appeared in 45 games this season with one start. Against Michigan, the Geneva, Ill., native gathered a match-high 12 digs, setting a new career high and marking the third time this season she has recorded at least 10 digs. Overall this season, Cochrane has 81 digs and nine service aces.

Diehl has appeared in 39 of the team's games, starting five of IU's 15 matches. Brought in for her defense and service game, the Bloomington, Ind., native has served seven service aces and compiled 41 digs this season.

Mroski's playing time has risen sharply the last two weeks, seeing action in four of the Hoosiers' last five matches and adding some firepower of the bench. The Hubbard, Ohio, native turned in her finest performance of the season with eight kills and a .417 hitting percentage against then-No. 16 Michigan State.

Impressive Start
Indiana began its Big Ten season with victories over then-No. 18 Minnesota, 3-0, and Iowa, 3-0. The last time the Hoosiers started the season winning their first two conference games was the 1997 season when IU downed Purdue and Ohio State.

IU Credit Union Invitational Champs
The Hoosiers captured their first tournament title of 2003 season at their own IU Credit Union Invitational. After downing Saint Louis (3-0) and Austin Peay (3-1) in its first two matches, IU came back from a 0-2 deficit to defeat Western Kentucky in the championship match. Behind an offensive onslaught and an energetic crowd, Indiana rallied for the 32-34, 23-30, 30-21, 30-25, 15-11 victory.

Christina Archibald led the way for Indiana compiling a season-high 25 kills, 11 digs, eight block assists, two service aces and hitting .364 against the Lady Hilltoppers. Melissa Brewer nailed 18 kills, hitting .325, and Katie Pollom finished with 18 kills and collected two block solos and seven block assists.

Archibald Brings Home MVP
After her performance at the IU Credit Union Invitational, Christina Archibald earned tournament MVP honors. The Belleville, Ill., finished the weekend with 56 kills, 26 digs, 12 block assists and four service aces. Indiana appeared in four tournaments this season, and Archibald was named to the all-tournament team in all four events.

All-Tournament Appearances
In addition to Archibald, Melissa Brewer and Katie Pollom earned spots on the all-tournament team at the IU Credit Union Invitational. Brewer terminated 48 kills along with 19 block assists in the tournament. The Bloomington, Ind., native was named to three all-tournament teams this season.

Pollom earned her first all-tournament nomination of the season finishing second on the team with 50 kills. She also turned in a dominant performance on the defensive end with four block solos and 10 block assists.

Oh So Close
Two different tournaments, same result. The Hoosiers fell in the championship match for the second-straight tournament at the TIS/Taylor Invitational on September 6. After defeating IUPUI in three games and Southeast Missouri State in four games, Indiana fell to Wisconsin-Green Bay in five games in the finale. It marked the second time in the two-year history of the tournament IU finished second at the event.

Weismiller Remains Perfect
In its 29th season, Indiana has compiled a 22-7 record in season-opening matches. The Hoosiers improved to a perfect 11-0 in season openers under head coach Katie Weismiller after defeating Kent State in five games. Indiana's last loss in a season-opening match was a three-game sweep at Kentucky on September 4, 1992.

Preseason Big Ten Poll
Coming off its third NCAA Tournament appearance in five seasons, the Hoosiers were selected fifth in the 2003 Big Ten Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. In addition, league coaches tabbed junior outside hitter Christina Archibald to the preseason All-Big Ten team.

USA Today Poll
Overall, three Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 25 and three Big Ten teams sit just outside the top 25 receiving votes. Indiana faces four teams ranked in the top 25 this season and three more teams receiving votes in the poll.

Hoosiers Dancing
In 2002, Indiana advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in school history. Weismiller has led the Hoosiers to the NCAA Tournament three times in the last five years. Last season, eight Big Ten teams earned a berth into the Tournament. IU matched up against the University of Texas in the first round dropping a heartbreaking five-set match 22-30, 38-36, 17-30, 30-24, 10-15. The Hoosiers are 2-4 all-time in the NCAA Tournament in their four appearances.