Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Set for Opener in Indianapolis
8/31/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
August 31, 2004
WEEKLY RELEASE
Bloomington, Ind. -- The Indiana volleyball team opens its 30th season at IUPUI on Wednesday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m. The Hoosiers defeated IUPUI in three games at last year's TIS/Taylor Invitational and hold a 3-0 advantage in the all-time series against the Jaguars.
IU will feature a new look with six newcomers joining seven returnees, including preseason All-Big Ten selection Christina Archibald and senior middle blocker Katie Pollom.
The Hoosiers are 11-0 in season openers under head coach Katie Weismiller and 22-7 in the program's history. In last season's opener, Indiana downed Kent State, 3-2, at the Hurricane Invitational. The last IU season-opening loss came at Kentucky on September 4, 1992.
After Wednesday's match, the Hoosiers will return home and host the IU Credit Union Invitational on Friday-Saturday, Sept. 3-4, at University Gym. Indiana will face Murray State at 7 p.m. on Friday before taking on Saint Louis at 12:30 p.m. and Oregon State at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
HOOSIER OPPONENTS
Indiana opens its 30th season of volleyball against IUPUI. The Jaguars host the Hoosiers for the first time and trail the all-time series, 3-0. IU swept IUPUI in last season's opening match at the TIS/Taylor Invitational. Heading into the 2004 campaign, Jaguar head coach Mike Payne's charges were selected third in the Mid-Continent Conference preseason coaches poll. Last season, the Jaguars finished 9-5, good for a third place in the Mid-Con. IUPUI returns eight letterwinners off last year's third-place squad, led by junior middle hitter Tracy Bailey, who earned second team all-conference honors.
The defending Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champion Murray State Racers head to Bloomington fresh off a 24-6 season in 2003. The Racers made their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance last season and are on track to make it back-to-back appearances after being selected as the preseason OVC favorite. Junior outside hitter Paige Sun, the OVC's first-ever All-American, was the top vote-getter in preseason balloting, topping the OVC first team. Junior setter Nikki Wong, a second team selection last season, was also selected to the preseason first team. IU holds a 2-0 advantage against Murray State in the all-time series, with the Hoosiers winning the last match between the two teams, 3-0 (Sept. 2, 1994).
Saint Louis closed out its 2003 campaign with a 9-22 overall record and a 2-11 mark in Conference USA. The Billikens will look to rebound from 2003 as head coach Anne Kordes embarks on her first season at the helm. Kordes has five returning starters and 10 returnees overall to work with. SLU also brings in four new players, including a pair of JUCO transfers, Aida Antanaviciute (Jefferson College) and Stacy Larkin (Southwestern Illinois). Saint Louis opens the regular season at Indiana State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 1. The Billikens are 1-2 in the all-time series against IU, falling to the Hoosiers in last year's IU Credit Union Invitational, 3-0.
The Beavers of Oregon State were selected eighth in the preseason Pac-10 poll. OSU returns eight letterwinners from last year's team, including All-Pac-10 selection Allison Lawrence. The senior outside hitter ranked in the top 10 in the league in kills, digs, aces and points per game last season. Lawrence posted 425 kills on the year, the seventh best single-season total in OSU history. Only five other players in school history have recorded 400 or more kills in a season. In 2003, the Beavers finished with a 16-16 record (5-13 in the Pac-10), the third time in the last four seasons the team finished .500 or better. This will be the first meeting ever between Indiana and Oregon State.
SENIORS LEAD THE CHARGE
 Sophomore Sara Diehl 
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Pollom led the team with 25 block solos, was second with 84 block assists and 109 total blocks, and finished third with 328 kills and 2.88 kills per game. Pollom has led the Hoosiers in block solos the last two seasons and ranks sixth on IU's career list for block assists and total blocks.
LETS GET DEFENSIVE
With sophomores Lindsay Cochrane and Sara Diehl returning, the Hoosiers should have a solid nucleus on the defensive end. In 29 appearances and 10 starts, Cochrane did not show any apprehension in her debut season. She compiled 168 digs and 1.81 digs per game to go along with 11 service aces.
Diehl excelled in her first season in Bloomington as well, appearing in 26 of the team's 31 matches. The Bloomington South grad recorded 100 digs and 11 service aces in addition to adding stability on the defensive end.
AFFOLDER ARRIVES IN BLOOMINGTON
Matt Affolder, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Southern Illinois University, begins his first season as an assistant coach at IU. Affolder's main responsibilities with the Hoosiers will 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.
MILESTONES IN JEOPARDY
Senior Christina Archibald needs just 161 kills to break the career mark set by former Hoosier Melissa Brewer last year. Other record breakers on the horizon include senior Katie Pollom, who ranks sixth with 284 career block assists, just three behind Anne Eastman's fifth-place 287 total. Pollom is also sixth on the career list with 330 total blocks and tied for ninth with 45 career block solos.
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.
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).
SUCCESSFUL SEASON OPENERS
In its 29 seasons as a program, Indiana has compiled a 22-7 record in season-opening matches. The Hoosiers are a perfect 11-0 in season openers under head coach Katie Weismiller. Last season, IU downed Kent State, 3-2, in its opening match at the Hurricane Invitational. Indiana's last loss in a season-opening match was a three-game sweep at Kentucky on September 4, 1992.
SAINT LOUIS CONNECTIONS
There are a couple of connections between the Indiana and Saint Louis programs. Head coach Katie Weismiller coached the Billikens for two years (1989, '90), compiling a 40-24 mark, before heading to IU.
Additionally, SLU volunteer assistant Lynn Dell enjoyed a standout career as an outside hitter at IU. The former Lynn Crawley played with the Hoosiers from 1991-94, and in 1994, she was selected as a third team Mideast All-Region member.
IU CREDIT UNION REVISITED
This year marks the fourth time the Hoosiers have hosted the IU Credit Union Invitational. Indiana is a perfect 9-0 in the previous three tournaments, capturing the title all three times.
At last season's event, the Hoosiers captured the tournament title after downing Saint Louis (3-0) and Austin Peay (3-1) in its first two matches. IU came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Western Kentucky in the championship match. Behind an offensive onslaught and an energetic crowd, Indiana rallied for the 32-34, 23-30, 30-21, 30-25, 15-11 victory.
Christina Archibald earned tournament MVP honors, and Melissa Brewer and Katie Pollom were named to the all-tournament team.
ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL
 Senior Katie Pollom
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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.
FAMILIAR NAME RETURNS
Oregon State head coach Nancy Somera may be in her sixth season in Corvallis, but she has ties to Bloomington. Her brother, Joe Hillman, played basketball at IU from 1985-89. Hillman averaged 6.4 points per game during his career and was an important role player on IU's 1987 national championship team.
OPPONENTS RANKED AMONG BEST
Six Big Ten opponents are ranked or are receiving votes in the preseason USA Today/CSTV Top 25 Coaches Poll. Minnesota is ranked fifth overall and received one first place vote. Penn State is eighth, Illinois is 19th and Wisconsin is 23rd. Michigan and Michigan State are receiving votes.
