Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Host Purdue, Illinois
10/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 19, 2005
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana volleyball team returns home for a pair of Big Ten contests this weekend. The Hoosiers open against No. 17 Purdue on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m., before battling Illinois on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. Both matches will be played at the University Gym in Bloomington, Ind.
CRIMSON AND GOLD CUP, PRESENTED BY SBC
IU's contest against Purdue on Friday at 7 p.m., is the opening battle in the 2005-06 Crimson and Gold Cup, presented by SBC. A half-point is up for grabs to the victor. Last season, IU dominated the intra-state series with a 13-7 win.
MONON SPIKE
Friday's contest against Purdue is also the annual Monon Spike battle. The trophy was created in 1981 and has grown to be as important as football's Old Oaken Bucket in symbolizing the rivalry between Indiana and Purdue. Purdue has owned the Spike for the past two seasons.
FAN PROMOTIONS
Friday night against Purdue is Come in Crimson night. Come in a Crimson IU Athletics shirt and receive free admission. Saturday night against Illinois is High School/Middle School Night. To download your team forms, please visit volleyball promotions at IUHOOSIERS.com.
MANDY ON THE BLOCK
Mandy Eberle continues to be a force at the net. Her 1.47 blocks per game is third in the Big Ten.
EBERLE CLOSING IN ON TOP 10
Mandy Eberle is closing in on IU's top 10 in block assists. Her 211 career block assists ranks behind Melissa Rooney's 230 (1995-98) for 10th place.
GREAT WALL OF ANNIE
Annie Moddrell continues to intimidate opposing hitters with her stout defense at the net. The Freeburg, Ill., native is fifth in the league in blocks per game with 1.42.
GREAT WALL OF ANNIE II
Annie Moddrell became just the sixth member of the double-digit block assist club at Indiana with 10 against Furman on Sept. 10. The tally tied her for third-most in school history.
GET THAT STUFF OUT OF HERE
IU stands among the lofty heights of the Big Ten Conference in blocks so far this season. IU currently owns a 3.21 blocks per game average, the third best in the league behind Wisconsin's 3.65.
BOMBS AWAY
IU has had a tremendous serve game this season. Consequently, the Hoosiers lead the Big Ten with 1.71 service aces per game.
HOLDING SERVE
Rachel Gerling leads the Big Ten in aces (43) and aces per game (0.59).
ROCKING WITH THE ROCK
Rachel "Rock" Gerling leads the team in service aces (43) and digs (220). Additionally, she is second on the team in kills (219) and assists (42).
NO PLACE LIKE HOLM
Laura Holm orchestrates the Hoosier attack with 801 assists thus far. She is closing in on third place in the freshman single-season record book currently held by Karen Dunham with 825 helpers in 1984. The record for assists in a maiden season is Sherri Stout's 1,236 helpers in 1989.
500 WINS
With three more victories this season, IU will own 500 total wins as a program. Indiana entered the season with 489 wins in the school's history.
DEALING ACES
During the IU Credit Union Invitational, IU dropped the hammer in the service department. Against Western Kentucky, the team recorded 15 aces, which tied for the fourth-most in school history and third in a five-game match.
DEALING ACES II
Lauren Ditteon's five aces against Western Kentucky tied her for eighth all-time on the single-match list. Additionally, Rachel Gerling amassed five aces against North Florida on Sept. 9.
BLOCK PARTY
IU turned up its block game against Arkansas State, as the Hoosiers posted a three-game school-record 27 block assists in a 3-0 whitewashing of the Lady Indians. Meanwhile, IU's 14.5 total team blocks is now the second-most in a three-game match in school history.
BLOCK PARTY II
Rachel Gerling's three solo blocks against Dayton on Sept. 17 set the University Gym record for a five-game match. Meanwhile, Mandy Eberle's nine block assists in back-to-back matches against Michigan and Evansville are facility records.
STREAK STOPPING
With Indiana's triumph over Michigan on Sept. 24, the Hoosiers snapped a four-match losing streak to the Wolverines that dated back to Nov. 9, 2002.
400 MATCHES
When the Hoosiers take the court against Penn State at home on Nov. 4, Weismiller will enter the 400-match club at IU. IU's head coach began the season with 375 matches under her belt at the helm of Indiana volleyball.
GERLING NAMED BIG TEN DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Rachel Gerling garnered the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week award for the week ending Sept. 25. With the inception of the award this year, Gerling is the first Hoosier to earn the nod.
SUCCESSFUL SEASON OPENERS
13 up, 13 down. The Hoosiers improved to a perfect 13-0 in season openers in 2005 under head coach Katie Weismiller after defeating Indiana State in three games. In its 31st season, Indiana has compiled a 24-7 record in season-opening matches. IU's last loss in a season-opening match was a three-game sweep at Kentucky on Sept. 4, 1992.
BACK-TO-BACK ALL-TOURNEY
In a vote by the participating coaches, Annie Moddrell and Rachel Gerling earned spots on the IU Credit Union All-Tournament team. The duo then earned its second straight recognition as members of the Bama Bash All-Tournament team.
ALL-TOURNEY TROPHY HAUL
Rachel Gerling earned her third consecutive all-tournament team selection with a stellar effort at the Winthrop Invitational.
Meanwhile, Erica Short earned her first such accolade with recognition on the Winthrop Invite team as well.
TIS BOOKSTORE ALL-TOURNEY TEAM
Laura Holm and Erica Short earned spots on the TIS Bookstore All-Tournament Team. The honor was Short's second in a row and Holm's first as a Hoosier.
THEY GROW THEM BIG
With an incoming freshman class that features four players more than six feet tall (Carrie Deal; 6-0, Ashley Shaufler; 6-4, Erica Short; 6-2; and Emily Zulauf; 6-1), Indiana now has eight Hoosiers that eclipse the six-foot mark. Current Hoosiers Gabrielle Allison (6-1), Mandy Eberle (6-1), Rachel Gerling (6-0), and Annie Moddrell (6-1) all stand over six-feet tall. The last time IU had so many players measuring more than six-feet tall was in 2003 with eight as well.
ON THE GRAND STAGE
IU will face Michigan on Nov. 11 in a match to be televised on tape delay on Comcast Sports Net.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
For the second consecutive season, IU has only two seniors on its roster. Mandy Eberle and Rachel Gerling will be looked to for leadership with such a young squad.
PORCH ARRIVES IN BLOOMINGTON
Dottie Porch, who spent the past three seasons as a co-coach with the Indianapolis Juniors squads and as a member of the WTHR-TV team in the Circle City, has been named assistant volleyball coach at Indiana, head coach Katie Weismiller announced. Porch replaced former IU standout and assistant volleyball coach Cydryce Carter.
HITTING THE BOOKS
IU earned the prestigious Game Plan/American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for the 2004-05 season, as announced by the AVCA on Aug. 5.
"We take great pride in the fact that with the IU volleyball program our players are students first," Indiana head coach Katie Weismiller said. "This award is an honor and demonstrates how much effort the Hoosiers put into their classwork."
The award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors college and high school teams that displayed excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale and a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale during the school year. Nominating head coaches must be AVCA members.
NEWCOMER INFUSION
Weismiller brought in a huge 2005 freshmen class. A total of 10 newcomers: Jessica Batliner (Floyds Knobs, Ind./Our Lady of Providence), Carrie Deal (Bloomington, Ind./North), Laura Katherine de Lambert Holm (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North), Jessica Langert (Downers Grove, Ill./Montini Catholic), Christine Nolen (Spokane, Wash./Saint George's), Kari Morgenstein (Lincolnshire, Ill./Stevenson), Hana Ros (Muncie, Ind./Burris), Ashley Shaufler (Bristol, Wis./Westosha Central), Erica Short (Orrville, Ohio/Orrville) and Emily Zulauf (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) joined IU for the 2005-06 campaign.
LENDING VALUABLE SUPPORT
Over the summer, IU volleyball added several valuable support staff members. Eugene Kim is the volunteer assistant coach, while Dave Reid moved into the Director of Volleyball Operations position. Additionally, Chad Grossman and Abby McFarren help out as managers.
