Indiana University Athletics
IU Drops Five-Game Heartbreaker
10/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
October 18, 2003
Bloomington, Ind. - In its bid to upset its second ranked team of the season, the Indiana volleyball team dropped a five-game heartbreaker to 23rd-ranked Wisconsin 29-31, 31-29, 30-19, 27-30, 15-12. The Hoosiers fall to 9-10 on the season and 2-6 in the Big Ten, while the Badgers improve to 14-5 and 6-2 in the conference."We were aggressive from the service line, and we really played heads up offensively," said IU head coach Katie Weismiller. "Zimmerman did a nice job of getting the ball to the hitters and typically when we were coming back with the runs, we were hitting the ball well. When they got their runs, it was ball control once again."
Senior Melissa Brewer closed out the match with 18 kills, a .457 hitting percentage and five block assists. Junior Christina Archibald led the Hoosiers with 19 kills and junior Katie Pollom added 15 kills on a .545 hitting percentage. Running the show for the Hoosiers was junior setter Victoria Zimmerman, who dished out 58 assists in addition to her six digs and four kills.
"Christina (Archibald) is the energy," said Weismiller. "She swings incredibly hard and anytime she gets a kill, she pumps everyone up. Pollom can get through a double block and get a kill. I don't know how she does it, but she does. Brewer's passes have gotten so much better and I really have a lot of confidence in all of them."
IU opened the night with a thrilling come back in the opener. Trailing 29-27, the Hoosiers rallied for the final four points of the game. Brewer, Archibald and senior Monique Pritz pounded consecutive kills and a Badger error accounted for the four points, giving Indiana the victory.
The Hoosiers trailed most of the game and by as many as five points at 23-18 before pulling out the victory. Brewer led IU with five kills, hitting .333 with Pollom adding four kills on a .667 hitting percentage.
Wisconsin won game two by the same 31-29 score. IU jumped out to a 9-7 lead, but the Badgers responded with a 6-2 run making it 13-11. Wisconsin held on to its two-point lead until Indiana ran off five unanswered points for a 23-21 cushion.
IU maintained its lead at 25-23 before the Badgers answered with a 3-0 run to regain the lead. The Hoosiers fought back to even the score at 29-29, but Wisconsin scored the final two points for the 31-29 win.
After dropping the third game, Indiana fought back to force a fifth game with a 30-27 victory in game four. Archibald drilled three kills to give the Hoosiers an 8-5 lead. Again, Wisconsin responded, capturing the lead at 15-13.
This time the Hoosiers came back to take a lead they would not relinquish. Kills by sophomore Ashley White and Brewer extended the IU lead to three at 18-15, and Indiana held on the rest of the way, evening the match at 2-2.
In the fifth game, the Hoosiers fell behind 8-4 before scoring four of the next six points to close the gap to 10-8. A Brewer kill moved IU to within one point at 11-10, but that is as close as it would get. The Badgers reeled off four of the game's final six points, winning 15-12, and taking the match three games to two.
"It was a definitely a hard fought match," said Weismiller. "I think we were a little tentative down the stretch. I wish we could suit up and play tomorrow because this team is ready. It's going to happen, we just need it to happen soon."
Next up, the Hoosiers hit the road for battles against the two Big Ten teams from Illinois. IU faces Northwestern on Oct. 24 before traveling to Illinois on Oct. 25. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
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