Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Sweeps Murray St. in IU Credit Union Opener
9/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
September 3, 2004
BOX SCORE
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Behind a solid defensive effort and a balanced offensive attack, the Indiana volleyball team picked up a victory in its home opener, defeating Murray State (0-1), 32-30, 30-28, 30-18, to improve to 2-0 on the season. The match was the Hoosiers first in the IU Credit Union Invitational, and the victory moves IU's record to a perfect 10-0 all-time at the Invitational.
Five Hoosiers recorded six or more kills, with senior Christina Archibald leading the team for the second straight match. The Belleville, Ill., native pounded 15 kills while hitting .357. Archibald also added six block assists and two service aces in a dominant all-around effort.
Junior Mandy Eberle turned in another impressive blocking performance, picking up a career-high eight block assists.
"The key was to stay balanced out there and watching Murray State's setter," said Eberle. "It wasn't just me, the outsides did a great job of pressing their hands in the middle. It was a real team effort."
As a team, IU recorded 26 block assists in the match (13 total blocks), and sophomore Lindsay Cochrane matched a career-high with 14 digs.
"Looking at the stat sheet, you have to look at the 13 blocks in three games. That's huge," said head coach Katie Weismiller. "You also have to look at team play because we where aggressive from the service line, we set up a lot of blocks. So tough serving gave us some stuff blocks."
The Hoosiers trailed much of the first game and found themselves in a 20-14 hole when they mounted a comeback. A pair of kills by senior Katie Pollom and freshman Lauren Ditteon propelled Indiana on an 11-5 run which evened the game at 25-25.
Archibald gave IU its first lead of the game at 26-25 with her third kill of the match. The teams traded the next 10 points, as Pollom and Eberle netted two kills apiece, before Archibald closed out the game with a kill to give the Hoosiers a 1-0 lead in the match.
Pollom nailed seven of her 12 kills in the game, hitting an .875 in the game, while Archibald added four kills.
As was the case in the opener, game two was close throughout. In a game featuring 12 ties and five lead changes, the Racers moved out to a 14-9 lead. However, Indiana responded by scoring seven of the next eight points, capped by a Pollom kill, to take a 16-15 advantage.
After trading the next 14 points, Murray State regained the lead at 26-24, when IU scored the next four points to seemingly take control of the game. The Racers closed the gap to one point on two occasions, but could not overtake the Hoosiers, falling 30-28.
Following a pair of hard-fought defeats, Murray State struggled in the third game, where Indiana played its best volleyball in two matches this season. IU hit .371 as a team and tallied 14 block assists en route to a dominating 30-18 win.
Archibald helped finish the Racers off with five kills and four block assists in the game, with Eberle adding three kills and five block assists.
"We had good passing and a lot of great digs. That allows our offense to dish out the ball to everybody," said Archibald. "KP (Katie Pollom) and Mandy had awesome nights. It was a good team effort tonight."
The Hoosiers will look to add a fourth IU Credit Union Invitational title to the trophy case tomorrow. IU opens the day against Saint Louis at 12:30 p.m. and faces Oregon State at 7:30 p.m. at University Gym.
