Indiana University Athletics
Volleyball Season In Review
12/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 20, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - IUHoosiers.com takes a look back at the 2007 Indiana Volleyball season for a season-in-review.
"Our program took a step in the right direction this season," said Head Coach Sherry Dunbar. "We were not satisfied by any means, but after going through the Big Ten, we now know what we need to do to keep moving the program forward. Tasting a little success in the Big Ten will motivate our players to work hard this spring to prepare for the fall season."
PRESEASON TOURNAMENT SUCCESS
It did not take long for first-year head coach Sherry Dunbar and her staff to turn around the Hoosier volleyball team in `07 as Indiana reached the championship match in all four of their preseason tournaments.
A 3-1 win over Western Michigan in the final match of the Valparaiso University Popcorn Classic earned IU the tournament crown. Seven different Hoosiers, all six starters plus the libero, were named to an all-tournament team. Freshman Ashley Benson was a two-time all-tournament squad member as she was recognized as such at both the University of Tennessee Comcast Classic and the IU adidas Classic.
BIG TEN SEASON
Big Ten action began on Sept. 21 with a road match at Iowa in which the Hoosiers battled back from an 0-2 deficit to pull off a 3-2 come-from-behind victory. Indiana went on to split their first five weekends of conference play, sitting at 5-5 and tied for fourth place in the standings at the midway point. Other key victories in the first half included another five-game road win, this time at Illinois; and a 3-1 triumph over in-state rival Purdue. Indiana finished the season with five more conference wins than the previous year.
BRING BACK THE MONON SPIKE
In front of a national audience on the Big Ten Network, the Hoosiers recaptured the Monon Spike trophy with a 3-1 win over Purdue. Sophomore Kelsey Hall delivered 17 kills and "then-Senior" (more on that below) Juli Pierce dug 20 balls to give IU possession of the Monon Spike for the first time since 2002.
SPEAKING OF Juli Pierce...
Pierce had been listed as a senior all season due to her pending graduation in May However, the Georgetown, Indiana native has decided to return for her fourth and final year of eligibility next season while attending graduate school. She broke the single season dig record at Purdue on Nov. 14 and is nearly a lock to become Indiana's all-time dig queen when she shatters the previous school record for most career digs. She currently resides at third place in the all-time rankings with 1,192 digs, and needs only 139 more to surpass Jen Magelssen (1995-98) to grab the top spot.
A `FRESH' LOOK IN THE MIDDLE
If 2007 was any indication, freshmen middle blockers Ashley Benson and Taylor Wittmer are going to terrorize the Big Ten opposition the next three seasons following a record-breaking first year. Benson's 140 total blocks are the most ever by an IU frosh, and are the sixth most rejections for a single season in IU history, regardless of class. Wittmer nearly reached the century mark as well, totaling 95 stuffs on the year, good for fifth place all-time among IU freshmen.
GOOD BYE SENIORS
A trio of seniors played their final season in the cream and crimson in 2007, including Gabrielle Allison, Lauren Ditteon and Annie Moddrell.
Allison was a key cog in the Hoosiers' comeback victory in the conference opener at Iowa, connecting on five kills and posting a career-high nine blocks (two solo) while Moddrell hammered home 10 kills in addition to five blocks. Allison sparked the 3-2 comeback surge versus the Fighting Illini as well, combining with Moddrell for 11 kills and 12 blocks.
Ditteon leaves the team as one of the most versatile and consistent players Bloomington has seen in a long time. The southpaw flashed that versatility by excelling on both sides of the net, notching eight double-doubles in 2007 alone. Among active players this past season, Ditteon ranked either first or second in nearly every single career statistical category.
Moddrell may be leaving Bloomington, but her name will remain inside the IU record books following her four-year career. While donning the Cream and Crimson, Moddrell compiled 273 block assists and 309 total blocks (both rank seventh all-time) while hitting .265, the fourth highest hitting efficiency.
DIG FOR THE CURE
Indiana participated in "Dig for the Cure" on Oct. 26, and raised over $1,000 for the fight against breast cancer. All proceeds from t-shirt sales and pledged amounts that night went directly to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Wabash Valley Affiliate.
HOME CROWDS AMONGST LARGEST IN NATION
A school-record crowd of 11,086 people witnessed the volleyball match between the Hoosiers and Michigan State on Oct. 12 inside Assembly Hall. That crowd was the fourth largest in the nation for 2007 according to the Wisconsin Athletic Communications office, which keeps an unofficial record of national volleyball attendance figures across the country. For the season, Indiana's 1,555 average attendance ranked as the 23rd largest nationally.
COMING TO AMERICA
Freshman Martyna Popik became the first international player in program history when she entered the match against Belmont on Aug. 31. Popik hails from Bielsko-Biala, Poland.
MORE RECORD BOOK AMMENDMENTS
In addition to Pierce, Moddrell and Benson's numbers mentioned above that have cracked the Indiana record book top ten lists, two other Hoosiers scripted their names into the all-time rankings as well in 2007. By accumulating a team-high 479 kills this year, Junior Erica Short not only posted the fifth most terminations for a Hoosier in a single season, but also increased her career kill total to 1,335, which slots her seventh all-time. Setting up the majority of those kills was Freshman Mara Hilgenberg. Hilgenberg racked up 1,402 assists during her debut season, the sixth highest yearly total.
Players Mentioned
