Indiana University Athletics
Coach Weismiller's Thoughts On Upcoming Tournament
8/31/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 31, 2006
Bloomington, Ind. - The Indiana volleyball team will open its 2006 home campaign on Friday, Sept. 1 when they host Marshall on the first day of the TIS Bookstore Invitational. The Hoosiers will take on the Thundering Herd at 7:00 p.m. on Friday in University Gym and will host Chicago State on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 12:30 p.m. and Maryland at 7:00 p.m. Head coach Katie Weismiller sat down with IUHOOSIERS.com and shared her thoughts on the upcoming tournament.
On the weekend: Obviously, this is going to be our strongest test to date. Two of the three teams (Marshall and Maryland) were NCAA Tournament participants last year. We know that Marshall is going to be a very strong team. Chicago State is going to be a scrappy team. They aren't as big in the front line as some other teams, but they are a scrappy team, and Maryland hasn't played yet this year. Traditionally, they are very strong.
On the team's blocking after a successful effort at West Virginia: We felt like we had quite a few opportunities that didn't result in an actual block, and so this week we have been focusing on our block and setting up the block. I was very pleased with the numbers that we put up last weekend, but as a staff and as a team we believe that they can be even higher.
On the team's offense: This weekend will be more evenly balanced. Our middles have had a really strong week in practice, terminating a lot of balls, and we're going to look to spread our offense a lot more. Obviously, Lauren (Ditteon) is going to get her kills, Erica (Short) is going to get her kills and they are going to be watched, and I think it's going to open our middles up a lot more. So we are going to look to spread our offense a little bit more and distribute the ball a little differently.
On the team's defense: I'd always like us to increase our number of digs. Our strength this year will be from the service line and on defense, so of course we would like to have a good defensive weekend. We have great players, and now we just need to improve those numbers.
On playing for the first time on the new floor at University Gym: It's a classy floor. It makes a statement that Indiana University is committed to its volleyball program. I know that the Hoosiers are going to walk out onto the court with a lot of pride on Friday night and really work on protecting that floor and having a winning record on that floor.
