Indiana University Athletics
IU Hosts Michigan State, Michigan
9/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 21, 2005
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana volleyball team continues its six-match homestand as it opens Big Ten play against Michigan State and Michigan this weekend. The Hoosiers tangle with MSU at 7 p.m., on Sept. 23, before battling the Wolverines at 7 p.m., on Sept. 24. Both matches will take place at the University Gym.
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.
GREAT WALL OF ANNIE
Annie Moddrell continues to intimidate opposing hitters with her stout defense at the net. The Freeburg, Ill., native leads IU with 59 total blocks and 56 block assists. She currently stands in second in the Big Ten in blocks per game with 1.74.
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 3.47 blocks per game average, the second best in the league behind Wisconsin's 3.76.
RETURN TO SENDER
Annie Moddrell came out of nowhere to provide Indiana with an incredible presence at the net as she posted 16 total blocks at the IU Credit Union Invitational.
The sophomore also moved into IU's record books for her performance at the net. Her eight block assists and total blocks against Indiana State moved her into second on the three-game block assist chart and to third on the three-game total block list. Additionally, her eight block assists against ISU also tied for second on the three-game University Gym block assists chart.
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 eight block assists in the same match tied for third in the five-game facility record chart.
EBERLE ON THE BLOCK
Mandy Eberle is fifth in the Big Ten with 1.38 blocks per game.
BOMBS AWAY
IU has had a tremendous serve game this season. Consequently, the Hoosiers lead the Big Ten with 2.08 service aces per game. Indiana is the only team with more than a 2.00 aces per game average.
HOLDING SERVE
Rachel Gerling leads the Big Ten in aces (30) and aces per game (0.75).
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 dropped five aces against North Florida on Sept. 9.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERICA
Erica Short's incredible performance during her birthday weekend moved her into a seventh-place tie in the league with 4.00 kills per game. Meanwhile, Short's .296 hitting percentage this season moved her into seventh on IU's single-season hitting percentage chart.
ROCKING WITH THE ROCK
Rachel "Rock" Gerling leads the team in service aces (30) and digs (121). Additionally, she is second on the team in kills (133) and assists (28).
NO PLACE LIKE HOLM
Laura Holm is eighth in the Big Ten with an 11.57 assists per game average. Overall, Holm leads the Hoosier attack with 463 assists in the young season.
500 WINS
With five 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.
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.
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. With nearly half of the team towering over most of the competition, IU should have a healthy season at the net.
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 will have only two seniors on its roster. Mandy Eberle and Rachel Gerling will be looked to for leadership with such a young squad.
BATTLING THE BIGS
According to the preseason CSTV/AVCA poll, Indiana will be battling four ranked opponents this season. Big Ten foes Penn State (No. 5), Minnesota (No. 6), Wisconsin (No. 10) and Ohio State (No. 12) all open the season among the top 15.
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
Indiana Volleyball 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 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.
