Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Set To Host Purdue For Midweek Matchup
10/3/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 3, 2006
Purdue Game Notes
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The Indiana volleyball team will continue the 2006 Big Ten home slate when it hosts No. 9 Purdue on Oct. 4. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and will be played in University Gym.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hoosiers fell in both matches of their opening home Big Ten weekend. Indiana fell to No. 2 Penn State, 3-0, on Friday and then dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 13 Ohio State on Saturday in University Gym.
SCOUTING PURDUE
Purdue, ranked No. 9, enters the match with a record of 13-2 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten. Offensively, the Boilermakers are led by Danita Merlau with 230 kills. She is followed by Samantha Mader with 169 kills and Stephanie Lynch has 141 kills entering the week. Defensively, Lynch has 70 total blocks on the season and Kelli Miller has picked up 245 digs.
In the all-time series, Purdue leads with a 45-31 mark. The two teams are tied at 16 wins apiece in University Gym. Last season, the Boilermakers swept both matches by scores of 3-0.
JAMMING THE GYM
Against Ohio State, Indiana set a new attendance record at University Gym. During the "Jam The Gym" promotion, the Hoosiers welcomed 1,362 fans to the match. That number broke the previous all-time mark, 1,267, which had been set on Oct. 21, 2005, against Purdue.
SETTING NEW MARKS
In the victory over No. 19 Michigan on Sept. 15, Indiana had 23 total blocks, the third-best performance in the program's history. It is also the most blocks in a five-game match in Indiana history. The 10 solo blocks recorded by the team also stands as a tie for fourth in program history and ties the most ever in a five-game match.
Emily Zulauf set a new career-high with 14 kills, shattering her previous career-best (eight) that was set the previous weekend against Mercer. Erica Short and Annie Moddrell each had three solo blocks in the win, which ties them with former Hoosier Rachel Gerling for first on the all-time list in five-game matches.
DEFENDING THE NET
The Big Ten Conference named junior middle blocker Annie Moddrell its Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 25. The honor was the first of Moddrell's career.
The Freeburg, Ill., native helped the Hoosiers to a split in the first weekend of Big Ten play, including opening with an upset of No. 19 Michigan. The win over the Wolverines marked the first time since 2003 that Indiana had opened the conference slate with a victory.
In the win over Michigan, Moddrell was part of an Indiana team that tallied 23 blocks, which marked the third-best total in program history. Her three solo blocks against the Wolverines were part of IU's 10 solo blocks that equaled the Hoosiers' five-game match school record. Along with sophomore Erica Short, who also had a trio, Moddrell's three solo blocks tied her with former Hoosier Rachel Gerling for first all-time in five-game matches.
In the closing match of the weekend, Moddrell had 10 kills, one solo block and five block assists against Michigan State. For the weekend, she totaled 18 blocks and posted 17 kills on .261 hitting.
SUCCESSFUL OPENERS
14 up, 14 down. The Hoosiers improved to a perfect 14-0 in season openers under head coach Katie Weismiller after defeating Akron in three games (30-24, 30-28, 30-21) on Aug. 25. 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.
RAKING IN THE HONORS
Senior Lauren Ditteon was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2006 West Virginia Tournament. The junior, who was also named the IU Student-Athlete of the Week following her performance at the tournament, wrapped up her three matches with 33 kills and just five errors in 68 attempts for a .412 hitting percentage on the weekend.
In addition to Ditteon's honor, sophomore Erica Short and senior Sara Diehl were named to the West Virginia Tournament All-Tournament Team. Short was also named to the All-Tournament team following the TIS Bookstore Invitational and the Marriott Flyer Invitational.
DID YOU KNOW?
With its five-match winning streak to open the season, it marked only the fourth time in the Katie Weismiller era that the Hoosiers have captured their first five or more matches. The feat had previously been accomplished in 2000 (seven), 1999 (nine) and 1997 (15). All five of those victories were 3-0 sweeps, the first time that feat has occurred in Indiana volleyball history.
500 WINS
With its win over Oakland on Aug. 26, Indiana notched its 500th win as a program. Indiana entered the season with 498 wins in the school's history.
SAME PLACE, NEW FEEL
When the Hoosiers take to the court in University Gym, the building may be the same, but the playing surface is brand new. This fall season will mark the debut of the new state-of-the art hardwood playing surface, a change from the SportsCourt floor that had been part of the facility since IU Volleyball began calling the facility home in 1996.
ON THE GRAND STAGE
The Indiana volleyball match on Nov. 10 will be televised on Comcast SportsNet Chicago (CSN Chicago) as part of the Big Ten Conference's 14-match television lineup, the conference office has announced. The 2006 television schedule will feature each conference school in action at least once during the volleyball season on three different networks.
BATTLING THE BIGS
According to the preseason CSTV/AVCA poll, Indiana will be battling five ranked opponents this season. Big Ten foes Penn State (No. 2), Wisconsin (No. 9), Purdue (No. 16), Minnesota (No. 22) and Ohio State (No. 23) all open the season in the top 25.
SIXTH TIMES A CHARM
The Indiana volleyball team earned the prestigious Game Plan/American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for the 2005-06 season. It is the sixth time that IU has been awarded the honor and the second season in a row. The Hoosiers, who also won the award in 1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2004-05, are the only Big Ten volleyball program to earn the honor in 2005-06.
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 during the school year.
