Volleyball Hosts #3 Penn State and Ohio State This Weekend

Volleyball Hosts #3 Penn State and Ohio State This Weekend

9/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Sept. 26, 2007

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana University volleyball team enters the second weekend of the Big Ten season Friday at 7 p.m. when they welcome the Nittany Lions of Penn State to University Gym. IU will then host Ohio State on Saturday at 7 p.m. as well. It marks the season-opener at the U-Gym after the IU adidas Classic was held at Assembly Hall. The first 100 students in attendance on Saturday will receive a free IU Volleyball t-shirt.

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LAST TIME OUT
Head Coach Sherry Dunbar guided her team to an amazing comeback win Friday night in her Big Ten coaching debut. The Hoosiers dropped the first two games of the contest at Iowa before storming back to seize the five-game triumph. Seniors Annie Moddrell and Juli Pierce each jumped into the IU career top ten lists (read: `Cracking The Top Ten' on page 2) with five blocks and 22 digs, respectively, while fellow senior, Lauren Ditteon, chipped in 18 kills. The stellar play of the senior class was the key to the victory, including Senoir Gabrielle Allison's match-high nine blocks. Two of those rejections were of the solo variety. With a 30-29 lead in game one at #12 Minnesota, the Hoosiers nearly recorded the game-winning block, but it fell just outside the line. Unfortunately, IU could not recover and dropped the 3-0 decision to split the first weekend of league play.

SHORT'S SHOT SELECTION
Junior Erica Short has had little problem racking up kills, recording 10 or more put-aways in every match but one. However, the key has been shot selection and hitting efficiency. When Short hits over .200, the Hoosiers are a perfect 7-0 on the season.

COMEBACK KIDS
Don't make a mistake and count out this Hoosier squad at any point. Indiana is 3-0 in five-game matches thus far and have had to win both games four and five in all of those contests. In fact, the Cream and Crimson dug themselves an 0-2 deficit in two of those matches before rebounding by capturing the next three games for the 3-2 victory.

CRACKING THE THE TOP TEN
A pair of Hoosiers etched their names into the IU record books in the Big Ten opener at Iowa. Seniors Annie Moddrell and Juli Pierce each vaulted into the top ten all-time in a career statistical category. Moddrell, who's 245 block assists were already in the top ten, increased her career total blocks amount to 278, the eighth most in school history. The Freeburg, Ill. native also needs just 12 more solo blocks to complete the all-time top ten blocks trifecta. Most impressive, however, is her .270 career hitting efficiency which is currently the fourth-best percentage ever at IU. Pierce, meanwhile, also cracked the top ten by compiling her 911th career dig against the Hawkeyes. She's done so in just two-plus years of action after sitting out the `05 season. Also, Junior Erica Short's 1,093 kills puts her on pace to easily break into the top ten this season (106 kills shy) and eventually rank as high as #2 all-time in career kills before the end of her senior season.

digging it Senior Juli Pierce has averaged 4.32 digs per game over the last eight matches. She has put together a double-digit dig performance in all but one of those matches, dating back to a 3-1 win over Marshall on Sept. 7.

BIG TEN RANKINGS
Indiana's 89 service aces are the second most in the Big Ten Conference and their 1.75 aces per game average ranks as the fifth best in the conference. Senior Juli Pierce leads the way at the service line, responsible for 26 aces thus far, the second most in the Big Ten. Other Hoosiers present in the Big Ten statistical rankings are Erica Short's 4.65 kills per game (2nd), Mara Hilgenberg's 12.82 assists/game (3rd), and Pierce's 3.92 digs/game (8th).

DITTEON DITTEON
Senior Lauren Ditteon has recorded four double-doubles thus far and the Hoosiers have won all four contests in which she has done so. The Terre Haute, Indiana native has also twice come just two blocks shy of pulling off a triple-double.

BALANCED ATTACK
Seven different Hoosiers, all six starters plus the libero, have been named to an all-tournament team this season. Freshman Ashley Benson is 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.

STIFF COMPETITION
A pair of highly-respected national polls released this week are both filled with teams slated on Indiana's 2007 schedule. Five different IU opponents are ranked in the Top 25 of both the CSTV/AVCA Coaches Poll and RichKern.com Poll. Those teams include Penn State (#3/3), Wisconsin (#9/9), Michigan (#11/14), Minnesota (#12/11), and St. John's (#19/22). Complete poll results can be found on pg. 4.

LEADER OF THE PACK
Senior Lauren Ditteon is being looked upon to lead the young Hoosier squad this season with her team-high 108 career matches worth of experience. Ditteon's vast playing experience is evidenced by her ranking either first or second in nearly every career statistical category among active players. The Terre Haute, Indiana native has racked up 896 kills, 122 assists, 77 service aces, 601 digs and 209 total blocks over the past three+ years.