Indiana University Athletics
PSU, OSU Preview
10/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Hoosiers (8-13, 2-8 Big Ten) hope to maintain their recess string of success, during which they won two out of their last three matches, as they head back out on the road for a pair of conference tilts this weekend. First up, Indiana takes on No. 6 Penn State on Friday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m., in University Park. Earlier this season, IU suffered a 3-0 loss to the Nittany Lions on Oct. 9 in Bloomington.
The Cream and Crimson then hopes to pull a Halloween upset in Columbus, Ohio, against No. 7 Ohio State on Sunday, Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. Previously, Indiana fell to the Buckeyes, 3-0, in Bloomington on Oct. 8.
Last week, Indiana split its two-game conference homestand with a 3-0 loss to No. 2 Minnesota, before blanking Iowa, 3-0.
Senior Christina Archibald paced IU last week with back-to-back double-doubles en route to 26 kills and a 4.33 kills per game average, while sophomore Tasha Arsenych set up most of Archibald's kills with 66 helpers. Senior Katie Pollom dominated at the net for 12 total blocks, including four of the solo variety, while freshman Christine Nilles swept the floor with 26 digs.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
Penn State heads into Friday's match with a 17-2 record, including an 8-2 mark in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Ohio State in University Park on Oct. 20, before upending Illinois, 3-1, in Champaign on Oct. 22.
Against the Buckeyes, senior Ashley Pederson led a quintet of Penn State double-digit kill performers with 22 kills of her own. Junior Sam Tortorello directed the Nittany Lion offense with career-high 74 assists and junior Kaleena Walters posted a match-high 21 saves. In their match-up with Illinois, freshman Kate Price led PSU with 21 kills, while Tortorello drilled a career-high eight kills. Price posted her third double-double with 15 digs, while freshman Melissa Walbridge patrolled the nets with nine blocks.
Pederson leads the Nittany Lions with 283 kills, while connecting at a .268 clip. Tortorello serves as the primary setter for Penn State with 893 of the team's 1,045 total assists.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
Ohio State enters the week with a 19-1 record, including a 9-1 league ledger. The Buckeyes split a pair of contests last weekend to fall from the ranks of the unbeaten. The Buckeyes knocked off Penn State in a 3-2 nailbiter on Oct. 20 in University Park, before struggling in a 3-0 loss to Illinois in Champaign on Oct. 23.
Against the Nittany Lions, senior Stacey Gordon tied her season-high with 36 kills on a career-high 79 attacks, while junior Rebecca Kastein had a career-high 19 digs. Additionally, senior Maya Mapp registered a season-high seven block assists. In the upset against Illinois, Gordon paced Ohio State with 24 kills, while sophomore Marisa Main ran OSU's offense with 38 assists. The Buckeyes, however, could not overcome the Fighting Illini's .377 hitting percentage in the loss.
Gordon paces the Buckeyes with 488 kills, while recording an astounding 7.18 kills per game average. Gordon also serves as the primary defender with a team-high 214 digs, while Main owns 1,015 of the team's total 1,161 assists.
ARCHIBALD ALL-TIME KILLS LEADER
In Indiana's match against Kent State (9/17) at the TIS Bookstore Invitational, senior outside hitter Christina Archibald etched her name into the Hoosier record book. Archibald drilled 26 kills, breaking former Hoosier standout Melissa Brewer's mark of 1,547. The Belleville, Ill., native added 16 kills later that night against Pittsburgh and added 10 kills at Purdue (9/22) to push her career total to 1,574.
DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE
Following a 13-kill and 11-dig performance against Iowa (10/23), senior Christina Archibald picked up her eighth double-double this season. The senior garnered eight double-doubles in 2003 and now has 35 in her illustrious career. Archibald leads the team in double-doubles, ahead of freshman Christine Nilles, who has two, and classmate Lauren Ditteon's one.
Additionally, after recording 13 kills against Iowa, Christina Archibald has reached the 10-plus kill mark in 64 of her last 68 matches, including a 21-match skein that ended with eight kills against Illinois on Sept. 25. Dating back to the start of the 2002 season, Archibald has only missed the 10-kill plateau six times over the last three seasons (85 matches).
1,000 REASONS TO LIKE POLLOM
Against Texas-Arlington (9/11), Katie Pollom became the 11th member of the Indiana volleyball 1,000 kills club. Since that match, Pollom has added 199 kills to give her a total of 1,199 for her career. The senior from Indianapolis entered the all-time top 10, with her 11 kills against Penn State on Oct. 9. Pollom leads the Hoosiers with a .305 hitting percentage.
WELCOME TO THE 400-BLOCK CLUB
Against Northwestern (10/16), Katie Pollom became the fifth member of the Indiana volleyball 400 total block club. She now has 414 rejections in her incredible career.
HAVE A NIGHT
Christina Archibald turned in one of the most impressive all-around performances in Indiana volleyball history against IPFW (9/14). The senior outside hitter recorded 30 kills, the third-highest total in a five-game match in school history. The last time a Hoosier pounded out 30 kills in a match was in 1998, when Ryann Connors drilled 35 kills against Purdue on Nov. 7.
CAREER NIGHT AGAINST THE MASTODONS
Indiana's match against IPFW saw several standout performances from the Hoosiers. Katie Pollom broke her previous career high of 23 kills (Michigan, 11/9/02) with 28 kills. The junior middle blocker also carded a season-high .533 hitting percentage.
Freshman Juli Pierce recorded a career-high 13 digs, while sophomore Tasha Arsenych netted a career-high 62 assists and matched a then-career high with nine digs.
As a team, the Hoosiers hit a season-high .375 and recorded a season-best 84 kills.
CAREER NIGHT TIMES TWO
Indiana also set a variety of career highs in its 3-2 thriller against Michigan on Oct. 2. Katie Pollom and Tasha Arsenych posted personal bests for attacks with 56 and 16, respectively, while Rachel Gerling drilled 12 kills for her benchmark. Defensively, Lauren Ditteon, Christine Nilles and Juli Pierce all recorded watershed marks for digs with seven, 27 and 16. Last, but certainly not least, Mandy Eberle registered 10 total put-backs for a career-best block total.
CAREER NIGHT HO-HUM?
Posting career nights is fast becoming a trend for the Cream and Crimson in the latter half of the season. Against Northwestern (10/16), Indiana recorded 10 personal standards. Senior Christina Archibald registered 61 attacks, while tying her career-best with four service aces. Sophomore Tasha Arsenych also registered watershed marks in attacks (21) and service aces (two), while freshman Lauren Ditteon put-away 15 kills on 35 attacks as well as tallied 11 digs - all personal bests. Additionally, classmate Christine Nilles attacked the Wildcat defense a career-high 35 times and tied her career best with a solo block, while freshman Juli Pierce swept the floor with 26 saves.
TEXAS TWO-STEP
For the second consecutive tournament, IU garnered a second-place finish at the Texas-Arlington Invitational (9/10-11). The Hoosiers downed Arkansas-Little Rock and Houston, 3-1, before falling to Texas-Arlington, 0-3, in the final match of the tournament.
The previous weekend, Indiana finished second at the IU Credit Union Invitational (9/3-4). After scoring a sweep of Murray State, the Hoosiers fell to eventual champion Saint Louis in the second match. Indiana came back strong with a sweep of Oregon State in the finale, closing out the tournament with the same 2-1 record as Saint Louis. The Billikens picked up the championship due to the head-to-head tiebreaker.
HOOSIER HONOR ROLL
Katie Pollom was selected to her third all-tournament team in three events at the TIS Bookstore Invitational. The honor comes on the heels of the Texas-Arlington Invitational, where Pollom and Christina Archibald were named to the all-tournament team. Pollom recorded 39 kills (3.55 kpg) to go with nine blocks (.82) and six service aces. Archibald posted 37 kills (3.36), 29 digs (2.64) and four blocks (.36).
Pollom and freshman Lauren Ditteon were selected to the all-tournament team at the IU Credit Union Invitational. Pollom was dominant at the event, leading the Hoosiers with 46 kills while hitting a .439. The Indianapolis, native also added one block solo and seven block assists. Ditteon chipped in with 26 kills, averaging 2.89 kills per game and eight block assists.
EBERLE EASING IN
Filling in for the departed Melissa Brewer, junior Mandy Eberle has been more than capable. The Sussex, Wis., native leads the team with 101 total blocks, 90 block assists, and 11 block solos. She set a career-high with nine block assists in back-to-back games against Kent State and Pittsburgh at the TIS Bookstore Invitational. The middle blocker has compiled at least five block assists in nine of the team's 21 matches this season.
FITTING RIGHT IN
Freshmen Lauren Ditteon and Christine Nilles have been regulars in the Hoosier rotation and have showed they belong with outstanding performances. Ditteon's .271 hitting percentage ranks second on the team, and she is third on the club with 200 kills and 2.50 kills per game. The Terre Haute, Ind., native has recorded 10-plus kills in 11 of the team's 21 matches.
Nilles has been a force on the defensive end with a team-high 242 digs. She has had 12 double-digit dig performances, including a season-high 27 against Michigan on Oct. 2.
LETS GET DEFENSIVE
Sophomore Lindsay Cochrane provides the Hoosiers with a strong defensive presence as the team's libero. She set a new career high with 17 digs against Texas-Arlington, and she has recorded double-digit digs in 10 of IU's 21 matches this season. Cochrane is fourth on the team with 160 digs.
Along with Cochrane, freshman Juli Pierce has provided a spark on the defensive end. Pierce set a career high with 26 digs against Northwestern. Against IPFW, Pierce broke out with a 13-dig performance after corralling 15 digs at the Texas-Arlington Invitational. Additionally, Pierce notched 25 saves against Wisconsin on Oct. 15.
OPPONENTS RANKED AMONG BEST
Four Big Ten opponents are ranked or are receiving votes in the USA Today/CSTV Top 25 Coaches Poll. Minnesota is ranked No. 2, while Penn State is also in the top 10 at No. 6. Ohio State cracked the top 10 for the No. 7 spot, while Illinois sits at No. 21 to round out the Big Ten contingent in the top 25.
HOME SWEET HOME (CENTURY MARK)
With a Sept. 3, 3-0, win over Murray State in the IU Credit Union Invitational, Indiana claimed its 100th triumph in the University Gym.
SUCCESSFUL SEASON OPENERS
12 up, 12 down. The Hoosiers improved to a perfect 12-0 in season openers under head coach Katie Weismiller after defeating IUPUI in four games (30-23, 28-30, 30-25, 30-20). In its 30th season, Indiana has compiled a 23-7 record in season-opening matches. IU's last loss in a season-opening match was a three-game sweep at Kentucky on September 4, 1992.
SENIORS LEAD THE CHARGE
Christina Archibald and Katie Pollom are the only seniors on this year's young IU team. Along with the senior duo, the Hoosiers have two juniors, four sophomores and five freshmen. If there are two examples to follow on the court, Archibald and Pollom are as good as anyone. The one-two punch leads the Hoosiers in kills, as Archibald leads the squad with 302 kills and is second with 187 digs on the season, while Pollom has 296 kills and a .305 hitting percentage.
ARCHIBALD PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN
Indiana senior outside hitter Christina Archibald was selected to the preseason All-Big Ten team. Archibald is one of 12 players on the team from nine different league institutions.
AFFOLDER ARRIVES IN BLOOMINGTON
Matt Affolder, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Southern Illinois University, is in his first season as an assistant coach at IU. Affolder's main responsibilities with the Hoosiers include handling the team's travel arrangements, equipment, video breakdown and on-court instruction. He is no stranger to the state of Indiana, as he is a native of Decatur. Affolder served as a coach for the Munciana (Muncie, Ind.) Volleyball Club for seven years (1993-99), where he coached former Hoosiers Nikki Hill and Hillary Toivonen.
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 2004, Archibald placed second in the high jump at the Big Ten Championships with a personal-best clearance of 5'11 1/4''. In 2002, Archibald finished in a fourth-place tie in the high jump at the Big Ten Championships with a leap of 5'7 3/4''. The jump tied her for the best finish in the event by a freshman.
NEW SEASON, NEW LOOK
Embarking on a new season, the Hoosiers will provide a new look on the court. IU welcomes six newcomers to the squad. Transfer Rachel Gerling (Orange, Calif./Golden West JC) joins freshmen Gabrielle Allison (New Palestine, Ind./New Palestine), Lauren Ditteon (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute South Vigo), Annie Moddrell (Freeburg, Ill./Freeburg Community), Christine Nilles (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) and Juli Pierce (Georgetown, Ind./Our Lady of Providence).
FIT TO LEAD
Katie Pollom and Sara Diehl will serve as the team co-captains this season. For Pollom, this marks the third straight year she will serve as the team's captain. Diehl is just a sophomore, but will be asked to lead on the defensive side of the ball.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS
Academic success has been a staple under head coach Katie Weismiller and last year was no exception. Seven Hoosiers earned a spot on the Academic All-Big Ten team, including Melissa Brewer, Mandy Eberle, Beth Heimann, Nikki Hill, Katie Pollom, Monique Pritz and Victoria Zimmerman. During the past four years, 32 Hoosiers have received Academic All-Big Ten honors.
