Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Western Illinois
Hoosiers Win, 3-1, Over Western Illinois
8/25/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 25, 2007
Final Stats
DEKALB, Ill. - The Indiana University volleyball team defeated Western Illinois 3-1 (30-15, 29-31, 35-33, 30-23) Saturday evening to improve to 2-0 on the young season. The win also puts the Hoosiers in place to win the Northern Illinois Invitational crown with a victory over Western Kentucky in their final match on Sunday.
Junior Erica Short continued her strong performance by piling up another 28 kills in the second Saturday contest. Senior Juli Pierce and Junior Jessica Langert led the Hoosiers defensively with 25 and 13 digs, respectively. Freshman Mara Hilgenberg racked up 66 assists and her first 20-dig performance as a Hoosier. Senior Lauren Ditteon did it all for the Crimson and Cream, filling up the stat sheet with 15 kills at a .538 pace with 10 digs, six assists, two aces and two blocks.
Indiana got off to a hot start in game one, hitting .400 as a team. The Hoosiers never trailed after Short swatted back-to-back kills to begin the match. Western Illinois closed in at 11-9, but Indiana put the game out of reach by earning 12 of the next 14 points en route to a 30-15 drubbing.
A breakout performance (seven kills) in game two by Freshman Ashley Benson allowed the Hoosiers to keep pace with the rejuvenated Westerwinds. Trailing by a lone point at 25-26, Hilgenberg may have made the play of the match when she sprinted away from the net towards the baseline and laid out to strike the ball over her head and back onto WIU's side of the net. Just seconds later, Hilgenberg's diving save came to fruition as Ditteon rejected the Westerwinds rebuttal to give Indiana the crucial point. Indiana had a game-point at 29-28, but a Western Illinois attack hit the net tape, bounced up and rolled along the top of the net before finally trickling into the Hoosiers court for the game-saving kill. Unfortunately, WIU took the next three points as well for the 31-29 win
Game three was all about being clutch for the Hoosiers as they staved off four different WIU game points in order to earn a 35-33 victory. Kills by Short and Senior Annie Moddrell combined with a Hilgenberg-service ace finished off game three.
It was all Hoosiers in game four after a kill by Benson broke a 9-9 stalemate early. Indiana surged to an 18-11 advantage and continued to pour it on for the remainder fo the 30-23 winner. Ditteon exploded for six kills in the match-clincher.
Indiana (2-0) will play Western Kentucky (2-0) at 10 a.m. central time on Sunday for the tournament crown.
MATCH ONE RECAP
Four volleyball players received their first start as Hoosiers in the season opener at Northern Illinois, along with their first victory as Indiana captured a 3-2 win (30-25, 28-30, 22-30, 30-20, 15-10) over the Huskies to begin the NIU Invitational. Freshman Ashley Benson, Mara Hilgenberg, Taylor Wittmer and Sophomore transfer Kelsey Hall were joined in the starting lineup by Senior Lauren Ditteon and Junior Erica Short while Senior Juli Pierce filled the libero role. Short racked up 22 kills and Hilgenberg compiled 56 assists in the contest.
Indiana has now won 15 consecutive season openers, dating back to 1992. In 33 seasons, the Hoosiers have compiled a 26-7 record in the opening match.
Short led IU offensively with eight kills and a .385 hitting efficiency in first game. Hilgenberg wasted little time showing Hoosier fans why she was chosen as the team's primary setter, racking up 18 assists in game one. After Northern Illinois knotted the score at 16-16, the Hoosiers took five of the next six points to take a 21-17 advantage that they would not relinquish. Short's seventh and eight kills of the opening act accounted for IU's final two points in the 30-25 win.
Game two was a back-and-forth battle in which the score was tied as late as 27-27. Unfortunately, seven Hoosier service errors proved to be too much to overcome in the 28-30 defeat. A kill by IU's Benson kept Indian alive at 28-29, but then NIU's Laura Baetzel ended the game with a kill for point number thirty.
Indiana jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the third game before the Huskies went on a four-point run for a 6-4 advantage. The Hoosiers put together a few stretches before eventually falling 22-30.
Trailing 6-11 early in game four, the Hoosiers began to mount their comeback by snatching five consecutive points. The Crimson and Cream later raced past NIU when Hilgenberg's service ace gave them a 19-18 edge. When Indiana extended the lead to 22-18, the Huskies were forced to take a timeout. The break in action did little to derail the red-hot Hoosiers, however, as they won nine of the next 11 points for the 30-20 victory. A kill by Senior Captain Gabrielle Allison sealed the deal and sent the match to a fifth and final game. Indiana's comeback was fueled by the resurgence of Short, who regained her game-one form and put away seven balls, including an electrifying solo block that tied the game at 17-17.
Pierce stepped into the service area after a Ditteon-kill handed the Hoosiers a 2-1 lead in game five. Pierce proceeded to record back-to-back service aces in the Hoosiers' seven-point run while she was serving. Northern Illinois took a timeout at 13-5 following yet another service ace by the Hoosiers, this time by Hilgenberg. Once again the pause in action did little to deter Indiana's momentum as the Hoosiers rolled to a 15-10 triumph in the match-clincher.
Players Mentioned
