Indiana University Athletics
IU Downs OSU, 3-1
11/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
November 8, 2003
Box ScoreBloomington, Ind. - In one of its finest efforts of the Big Ten season, the Indiana volleyball team knocked off Ohio State in four games 31-29, 30-18, 14-30, 30-20. The Hoosiers recorded a season-high 32 block assists helping improve their record to 10-15 overall and 3-11 in the Big Ten season. OSU drops to 10-12 overall and 4-10 in the league.
"The victory feels great," said Indiana head coach Katie Weismiller. "We are definitely going to enjoy it. Every victory is a big one right now, and obviously Ohio State, with a player like Stacey Gordon, it feels good to get a win like this."
IU's balanced attack saw three players reach the double figures mark in kills, and four players compile five or more block assists. Katie Pollom nearly recorded a double-double after a phenomenal effort. The junior recorded 12 digs with a .412 hitting percentage along with a team season-high nine block assists.
"When I am blocking, I really just concentrate on closing the block," said Pollom. "Especially with block assists, you have to give credit to the offside blockers because all I have to do is close. They set it up, we both try to pressure over and hopefully we block the ball."
Senior Monique Pritz pounded nine kills on a .333 hitting percentage, but she did her damage on the defensive end, where she picked up six block assists and helped hold OSU star Stacey Gordon in check.
"Prior to the match, Monique specifically asked to line up on Gordon," said Weismiller. "We knew she was going to have a good match."
Pritz wanted Gordon and got her wish. After a 41-kill performance against Purdue on Friday night, Gordon was held to 14 kills on a .152 hitting percentage.
"I was really just watching where she (Gordon) was going," said Pritz. "Something that I have really been working on is lining up on the hitters, and really pressing over. The middles did a great job of closing, and it made it a lot easier. She had the 41 kills last night, and I was really on a mission to stop her."
Along with Pollom and Pritz, Brewer finished with a match-high 16 kills, hitting .375 to go along with seven block assists. Additionally, freshman Tasha Arsenych continued her great all-around play with 47 assists, eight digs and six block assists.
"Tasha did a wonderful job of opening up the offense," said Pollom. "She gave us a lot of one-on-ones. Our passing was key. When our passing is on, we usually do well. Our offense is fast when Tasha opens it up."
In game one, Indiana picked up where it left off after Friday's final-game performance against No. 17 Penn State. IU jumped out to an early 11-6 lead and held a five-point advantage at 24-19 before the Buckeyes battled back. Ohio State rallied to take a 28-27 lead, but Pritz and Pollom would not let victory escape the Hoosiers' grasp. A Pritz kill evened the score at 28-28 and following an OSU point, Indiana closed out the game after two Buckeye errors and a Pollom kill.
Brewer (five kills on five attempts) and Pollom (four kills on four attempts) were perfect in the game as IU hit .355 as a team in the opener. In addition, Pollom added five block assists and Pritz collected four block assists.
The Hoosiers opened game two with a flurry of kills. Brewer (three kills), junior Christina Archibald (two kills) and Pritz (two kills) helped IU take eight of the game's first nine points.
Indiana maintained a seven-point advantage at 20-13 when it took advantage of five OSU errors en route to the 30-18 victory.
The team hit .303 in the second game led by Brewer's four kills, while holding Ohio State to a .057 hitting percentage.
After dropping game three, 30-14, IU rebound with a 30-20 victory to close out the match. The Buckeyes held an 11-10 lead, but it turned out to be their final lead of the match. Brewer ran off three consecutive kills in a 7-2 Hoosier run giving the team a 17-13 lead.
Maintaining its four-point lead at 19-15, Pollom delivered two kills helping IU extend its lead to 24-16. Ohio State could not put a run together as Indiana's defense remained strong down the stretch for the victory.
"We were aggressive from the service line," said Weismiller. "We started out that way, and we got some huge blocks. We really picked up our blocking and really took her (Stacey) out of system. I thought (assistant coach) Ryan (Theis) did a nice job with the game plan in terms of whom to serve. We have seen a lot of teams serve Stacey, but we did a good job of keeping the ball away from her and kind of limiting her opportunities. The blockers did a nice job of sticking with the game plan, getting some early blocks and taking them out of system."
Gordon's 14 kills were good enough to move her into first place on the school's all-time career kills list.
Archibald closed out the match with 12 kills, hitting .333 to go along with four service aces, a team season high, four digs and three block assists. Junior Beth Heimann matched Arsenych with eight digs.
The Hoosiers return to the court and look to build a winning streak when they travel to Iowa on Nov. 14 for a matchup with the Hawkeyes at 7:00 p.m. IU faces the 20th-ranked Golden Gophers of Minnesota at 7:00 p.m. on Nov
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