Indiana University Athletics
Volleyball Wins Season Opener
8/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Coral Gables, Fla. -- New season, different opponent, same result. Head coach Katie Weismiller improved to 11-0 in season openers at Indiana after sweating out a thrilling five-game victory 30-27, 28-30, 28-30, 30-23, 15-11 over Kent State in the opening match at the Hurricane Invitational.
"I'm glad we got the first match over with," said Weismiller. "I think both teams started out a little nervous. You have to give Kent State a whole lot of credit. They played great defense and kept a lot of balls alive."
Junior Christina Archibald (Belleville, Ill./West HS) and senior Melissa Brewer (Bloomington, Ind./North HS) proved why they were All-Big Ten selections last season, leading the Hoosiers to victory with big-time performances. Archibald finished with a match-high 20 kills, while Brewer added 15 kills.
"It felt really good to get the first game under our belts," said Archibald. "A lot of us were really nervous coming out at the beginning of the season."
Senior Nikki Hill (Muncie, Ind./Central HS) also provided a spark for IU, ending several Kent State rallies with timely kills.
"I haven't played since last fall when I had surgery in the spring," said Hill. "I just felt really good. Most of the players out there were on the team last year, so I felt real comfortable."
IU opened the season in impressive fashion, capturing the opening game, 30-27. Tired of facing each other in the preseason, the team came out happy to see a different color jersey across the net and took out their aggression on the Golden Flashes. The teams traded points early with Kent State holding a 9-8 advantage before the Hoosiers scored nine of the next 10 points, including six unanswered, to grab a 17-10 lead.
Kent State rallied, cutting the Hoosier lead to three at 25-22, but Archibald delivered a huge block solo stopping the Golden Flash run and extending the IU lead to 26-22. Kent State made one more run, closing the Indiana lead to 28-27 before Weismiller called a time out to try and stop the run. The plan worked as the Hoosiers responded by scoring the final two points of the game on a kill by Brewer and a block solo by Hill.
Brewer finished the game with four kills, while Archibald and senior Katie Pollom (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS) each added three kills.
In the second game, after falling behind 6-3, Indiana answered with four unanswered points featuring kills from Brewer, Archibald and junior Victoria Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington HS) to give the Hoosiers a 7-6 lead. Again, Kent State came back, building an 11-9 lead. However, Pollom pounded two kills in a stretch seeing IU take six of the next eight points en route to a 15-13 lead.
The Golden Flashes roared back to take a 24-21 lead before Brewer and Archibald brought the Hoosiers back. Brewer added a block solo and a kill, while Archibald nailed a kill to tie the game at 24-24, but Indiana could not take the lead the rest of the way. Kent State scored six of the final nine points of the game, winning 30-28 and evening the match at one game apiece.
Archibald got Indiana off to a good start in game three, drilling a kill and recording a block solo to give the Hoosiers an early two-point lead. Kent State tied the game at five before scoring five of the next eight points to take a 10-8 lead. As they did throughout the match, IU responded, going on a 10-4 run to take an 18-14 lead. Senior Monique Pritz (Columbus, Ind./East HS) gave the Hoosiers a lift with a block solo and a block assist during the run.
Once again the Golden Flashes recovered, going on a 6-0 run on their way to building a 22-20 lead. After the teams split the next eight points, Hill pounded her second kill in three points to make it 26-25 Kent State. Two Golden Flash errors tied the game at 27-27, but the Hoosiers could not deliver down the stretch, dropping game three, 30-28. Archibald finished game three with a game-high six kills.
Entering the fourth game in need of a victory, IU played its best volleyball of the match. Indiana scored the first three points of the game and never trailed the rest of the game, knotting the match at 2-2 with a 30-23 victory. Hill lifted the Hoosiers, delivering a huge point every time the Golden Flashes made a run. Kent State trimmed the Hoosier lead to 7-5, but Hill added two kills to build the lead to four at 10-6.
The Golden Flashes fought back again, closing the deficit to 14-13 before Indiana took control of the game. Brewer and Hill contributed two kills with Pollom adding one as IU extended its lead to 21-14. Leading 24-18, the Hoosiers took an insurmountable 27-18 lead following two kills by Archibald and one kill by Brewer. Hill, Archibald and Brewer each finished the game with five kills as IU forced a decisive fifth game.
"Nikki did a great job," said Weismiller. "She was a very steady player tonight. She stepped it up. When we needed a big kill, she was the one that put it down."
The fifth game saw Kent State jump out to an early 4-2 lead before three kills by Brewer, one kill by Hill, a Golden Flash error and a service ace by Archibald gave IU an 8-4 lead. Pritz split the next four points with Kent State with two kills, helping the Hoosiers maintain their four-point lead at 10-6. The Golden Flashes would not get any closer as a Brewer kill ended the game (15-11) and gave Indiana its first victory of the season.
"Games four and five we picked it up a little bit more," said Weismiller. "We started playing our game and being aggressive."
Next up, the Hoosiers face Manhattan tomorrow at 9 a.m. in day two of the event. Indiana wraps up the tournament in the nightcap against host Miami, Fla., at 7 p.m.
"I think we will play a little more together tomorrow," said Archibald. "We have six new people and it will take some time getting used to playing with everyone."
