Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Fall in Championship
9/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Bloomington, Ind. - If this seems familiar, it is. The Indiana volleyball team fell to Wisconsin-Green Bay in the championship match of the TIS/Taylor Invitational, 30-22, 21-30, 30-27, 25-30, 15-5. Just as they did last weekend, the Hoosiers opened the tournament with two victories only to fall in the championship match.
"I would definitely say we had our ups and downs," said Indiana head coach Katie Weismiller. "There was a big swing in momentum. There were times we saw some real bright spots and some times where we really struggled. You have to credit Green Bay. That is a nice team. They controlled the ball, and they played hard. They did a lot of things to get us out of our offense. First you have to give them credit, but for us there were some bright spots, but definitely some things we need to work on."
The opening game saw both teams trade rallies early, with UWGB taking control of the match late. With the score tied 15-15, the Phoenix ran off three-straight points and never trailed again. IU cut the lead to 24-22, but Wisconsin-Green Bay scored the final six points in the game for a 30-22 victory.
Needing a victory to even the match, Indiana flew out of the gates, building an early 12-5 lead. UWGB trimmed the lead to 14-10, but that's as close as they would get. The Hoosiers used a 10-2 run to build a 24-12 lead, holding off a Phoenix rally for the 30-21 victory. Senior Melissa Brewer led both teams with seven kills.
After dropping the third game 30-27, IU responded in the fourth game. Behind a pair of kills from senior Christina Archibald and junior Katie Pollom, Indiana took an early 6-2 lead and never trailed the rest of the game. The Hoosiers maintained a three-point lead until two Brewer kills extended the lead to six at 26-20. A service error by the Phoenix gave IU the 30-25 victory and evened the match at 2-2.
In the decisive fifth game, UWGB reeled off 10 of the game's first 11 points on its way to the victory. IU could never mount a comeback, and the Phoenix cruised to a 15-5 victory and the TIS/Taylor Invitational championship.
"These kids just never give up," said UWGB head coach Debbie Kirch. "Coming in, we felt that we really matched up with Indiana size-wise. We wanted to beat them with our speed, especially on the block. Most importantly, we were aggressive. When we've played Big Ten teams in the past, we have been tentative."
Brewer and Archibald earned spots on the All-Tournament team. In the match, Brewer led the Hoosiers with 24 kills while hitting .340 and Archibald finished with 14 kills and 13 digs. Despite their performances, Wisconsin-Green Bay's blocking and offense was too much for Indiana to handle.
"They did a great job putting up a block, but I think more impressive was their offense," said Weismiller. "They were able to run lots of different options at us and our block was pretty much a non-factor tonight. You have to credit their setter, she did a nice job of delivering the ball. They were in system a lot."
The loss drops IU to 4-2 while UWGB improves to 6-0 on the season.
Up next, the Hoosiers travel to South Bend, Ind., to compete in the Notre Dame Invitational. IU faces Notre Dame at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and concludes the tournament against South Carolina at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
TIS/Taylor Invitational All-Tournament Team
Emily Scannell - SE Missouri St.
Rebekah Pallikan - IUPUI
Leslie Kuhn - UWGB
Krystle Lange - UWGB
Melissa Brewer - IU
Christina Archibald - IU
MVP: Janelle Tomlinson - UWGB
