Volleyball Heads North To Valparaiso Tournament This Weekend

Volleyball Heads North To Valparaiso Tournament This Weekend

9/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Sept. 5, 2007

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Hoosiers heads to Valparaiso, Indiana this weekend for three matches at the Valparaiso University Popcorn Classic from Sept. 7-8. In addition to a match against the Crusaders, IU will also play Marshall and Western Michigan over the weekend. The Hoosiers have compiled a combined 13-5 all-time mark against those opponents.

LAST TIME OUT
For the second weekend in a row, the Indiana Hoosiers won the first two matches of the tournament before dropping the third and final match. Last weekend's action at the University of Tennessee Comcast Classic included an opening sweep over Belmont, five-game triumph over Jacksonville State and loss to the host Lady Vols.

Game three of the Belmont match remained a stalemate until back-to-back kills by Freshman Ashley Benson handed the Hoosiers a 39-37 marathon win,3 and the match. The marathon theme continued in IU's match against Jacksonville State as they had to claw back from an 0-2 deficit to take the win in a five-gamer. Lastly, Indiana looked to be on their way to another come-from-behind victory versus Tennessee, leading most of game three before UT squeaked out the win. Benson and Junior Erica Short were named to the all-tournament team.

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BIG TEN RANKINGS
Indiana's 48 service aces are second to none in the Big Ten Conference and their 2.09 aces per game average ranks as the second best in the conference. Senior Juli Pierce leads the way at the service line, responsible for a league-high 23 aces thus far. Other Hoosiers present in the Big Ten statistical rankings are Erica Short's 4.83 kills/game (4th), Mara Hilgenberg's 12.04 assists (7th) and Lauren Ditteon's .357 hitting % (9th).

LEADER OF THE PACK
Senior Lauren Ditteon will be looked upon to lead the young Hoosier squad this season with her team-high 100 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 816 kills, 107 assists, 68 service aces, 533 digs and 190 total blocks over the past three+ years.

CRACKING THE TOP TEN
Several Hoosiers are likely to crack the top ten in various all-time career statistical categories this season. Senior Annie Moddrell's 239 career block assists have already broken into the top ten as the ninth highest total in IU history. She also needs only four more total blocks and 13 block solos to further establish her name in the Hoosier top ten record books. Most impressive, however, is her .264 career hitting efficiency which is currently the fourth-best percentage all-time.

Juli Pierce (108 digs shy) is also closing in on the career ranking lists. Junior Erica Short's impressive 967 kills in just over two years donning the Cream and Crimson puts her on pace to easily break into the top ten this season and eventually rank as high as #2 all-time in career kills before the end of her senior season.

THE BIG TEN NETWORK
In June 2006, the Big Ten announced the creation of the Big Ten Network, a national network devoted to the Big Ten athletic and academic programs. Available to all cable and satellite providers nationwide, with most programs offered in high-definition television (HDTV), the network allows fans to see Big Ten action across the country.

Hoosier volleyball is slated to have two contests broadcasted nationally on the Big Ten Network with the possibility of having additional matches added to the schedule in the future. Fans interested in the AT&T Crimson and Gold Cup standings will be able to catch all the Indiana vs. Purdue volleyball action this season as both contests between the state rivals will be shown LIVE on the Big Ten Network. First up, is a home match versus the Boilermakers on Oct. 17 with a road contest in West Lafayette later in the year on Nov. 14. Both matches are scheduled for 8 p.m. start times.

STIFF COMPETITION
A pair of highly-respected national polls released this week are both filled with teams slated on Indiana's 2007 schedule. Six 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), Minnesota (#10/10), Wisconsin (#12/11), Michigan (#14/18), Ohio State (#20/19) and St. John's (#24-22).