Indiana University Athletics
Big Ten Season Opens at Purdue
9/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
September 21, 2004
Purdue/Illinois Match Notes
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana volleyball team faces intrastate rival Purdue in the first game of the Big Ten season on Wednesday, Sept. 22. The Hoosiers travel to West Lafayette, Ind., to battle the Boilermakers at 7 p.m.
Indiana heads to West Lafayette with a 6-5 record and looks to return the Monon Spike to Bloomington. The Monon Spike is the traveling trophy given to the victorious team in the designated Monon Spike match. The 7-3 Boilermakers currently hold possession of the trophy after downing the Hoosiers, 3-1, in Bloomington last season. Prior to that, IU held the trophy the previous two seasons.
Following its match against Purdue, the Hoosiers head to Champaign, Ill., to face No. 13 Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 25. The Illini head into Big Ten play with an 8-1 record. Match time is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Huff Hall.
Hoosier Report
On Saturday, Sept. 18, senior outside hitter Christina Archibald etched her name into the Hoosier record book in Indiana's match against Kent State at the TIS Bookstore Invitational. 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 (9/17) to push her career total to 1,564. Archibald is currently second on the squad with 177 kills and 4.12 kills per game average.
Hoosier Opponents
Purdue: The Boilermakers of Purdue head into the Big Ten opener with a 7-3 record, including a 4-1 mark in West Lafayette. The Boilermakers rolled to a 3-1 record last week and placed second at the Mortar Board Premier tournament. After sweeping Central Michigan and East Tennessee State, Purdue lost in five games to Kentucky (30-24, 21-30, 31-33, 30-25, 15-17) in the championship. Prior to the tournament, the Boilermakers knocked off Valparaiso, 3-1, in West Lafayette.
At the Mortar Board Premier, junior middle hitter Kim McConaha and sophomore libero Leah Wischmeier were named to all-tournament team. McConaha leads Purdue with 162 kills and 4.38 kills per game with a .316 hitting percentage. Wischmeier is second on the club with 154 kills and a 4.16 kills per game average with a .318 hitting percentage.
Illinois: The 13th-ranked Fighting Illinois of Illinois enter the weekend with an 8-1 record. Illinois opens the weekend hosting Purdue on Friday before facing off against the Hoosiers on Saturday. The Illini hold a 3-0 record at home this season.
U of I was ranked No. 9 in last week's poll after snapping USC's 52-match winning streak (the longest streak in NCAA history). The Fighting Illini knocked off the Trojans, 30-24, 24-30, 12-30, 30-27, 15-8, on Sept. 11 in Champaign. Last week, the Illini fell to Loyola in five games and went on to run off three straight victories against Ball State (3-1), Houston (3-0), and at Arkansas (3-1) to claim the championship at the C&C Services Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
Three Ilini earned individual recognition in the Invitational. Junior Rasa Virsilaite was named the MVP after totaling 59 kills and 43 digs. Senior Jessica Belter and junior Rachel VanMeter joined Virsilaite with all-tournament honors.
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 (9/17) to push her career total to 1,564. Archibald is currently second on the squad with 177 kills and 4.12 kills per game average.
Double Your Pleasure
Following a 26-kill and 13-dig performance against Kent State, senior Christina Archibald picked up her fifth double-double this season. The senior garnered eight double-doubles in 2003 and now has 32 in her illustrious career. Archibald leads the team in double-doubles, ahead of freshman Christine Nilles, who has two.
Additionally, after recording 10-plus kills in all three matches at the TIS Bookstore Invitational (9/17-18), Christina Archibald has reached the 10-plus kill mark in 58 of her last 59 matches, including 20 straight. Dating back to the start of the 2002 season, Archibald has only missed the 10-kill plateau three times over the last three seasons (75 matches).
Big Ten Leaders
Heading into Big Ten play several Hoosiers are in the top 10 in the Big Ten rankings. Sophomore Mandy Eberle heads that list, ranking second with 142 blocks per game and leading the league with 58 block assists and 61 total blocks. Senior Katie Pollom is third with 179 kills, seventh with 4.16 kills per game and ninth with a .353 hitting percentage. Senior Christina Archibald is fourth with 177 kills and ninth with 4.12 kills per game. Defensively, Lindsay Cochrane ranks seventh, averaging 3.70 digs per game.
Battling The Boilermakers
IU heads into West Lafayette, Ind., against intrastate rival Purdue winning eight of the last 11 matches between the two teams, including two of the last three matches at Purdue. Indiana head coach Katie Weismiller has been extremely successful against the Boilermakers in her career. In 22 matches, Weismiller and the Hoosiers hold a 15-7 advantage over Purdue, holding a 6-5 advantage in West Lafayette, Ind., and a dominant 9-2 record in Bloomington, Ind.
The two teams will be competing for the Monon Spike, the traveling trophy given to the victorious team in the designated Monon Spike match. Purdue currently holds possession of the trophy after downing the Hoosiers, 3-1, in Bloomington last season. Prior to that, IU held the trophy the previous two seasons.
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 82 kills to give her a total of 1,082 for her career. The senior from Indianapolis needs 77 kills to surpass Lynn Crawley (1,158) and enter the all-time top 10. Pollom leads the Hoosiers with 179 kills and a .353 hitting percentage.
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.
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 61 total blocks and 58 block assists, and is second on the team with three 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 seven of the team's 11 matches this season. In addition, Eberle has added 90 kills.
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 .319 hitting percentage ranks second on the team, and she is third on the club with 118 kills and 2.74 kills per game. The Terre Haute, Ind., native has recorded 10-plus kills in eight of the team's 11 matches.
Nilles has been a force on the defensive end with 112 digs, the second most on the team. She has had five double-digit dig performances, including a season-high 18 against Houston at the Texas-Arlington Invitational (9/10).
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 nine of IU's 10 matches this season. Cochrane leads the team with 122 digs and a 3.70 digs per game average.
Along with Cochrane, freshman Juli Pierce has provided a spark on the defensive end. Pierce set a career high with 14 digs against Pittsburgh. Against IPFW, Pierce broke out with a 13-dig performance after corralling 15 digs at the Texas-Arlington Invitational.
Opponents Ranked Among The Best
Six Big Ten opponents are ranked or are receiving votes in the USA Today/CSTV Top 25 Coaches Poll. Minnesota is ranked No.1 for the first time in school history, while Penn State is also in the top 10 at No. 4. Illinois dropped to No. 13, and Ohio State is the final Big Ten team ranked in the poll at No. 20. In addition, Michigan and Wisconsin are receiving votes.
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 Pollom has recorded 179 while hitting a team-best .353, and Archibald has nailed 177. Pollom also leads the squad with five 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.
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.
