Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Conclude Regular Season With Two Road Matches
11/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 26, 2008
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana University volleyball team enters the final weekend of the regular season in sole possession of sixth place in the Big Ten standings and on the cusp of their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2002. Standing in their way of their "Fight for 12" goal are Michigan and Ohio State. Indiana hits the road for the last two matches, beginning with a 7 p.m. match versus the Wolverines on Friday before a 7:30 Saturday showdown in Columbus against the Buckeyes.
Live audio broadcasts are available for all IU Volleyball matches and can be accessed via the volleyball schedule page. The pre-match show starts approximately 10 minutes prior to start time.
NCAA TOURNAMENT
The NCAA Volleyball Selection Show is set for 10 p.m. on Sunday night, aired on ESPNU with analysis beginning at 10:30 on ESPNEWS.
If the Cream and Crimson were to qualify for the post-season event, it would mark the fifth appearance in program history and first since 2002. Indiana received NCAA bids in 1999, 1998 and 1995 as well.
YES, THE BIG TEN REALLY IS THAT GOOD
The Big Ten has been well represented in the AVCA National Poll all season long with at least five member schools ranked in the top-25 since the start. However, the dominance of the conferfence is exemplified when looking at the latest NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). The RPI is the computer formula-generated rankings that the NCAA selection committee relies heavily on for determing tournament at-large bigs and seeding.
The most recent RPI rankings were released on Nov. 9, and the Big Ten occupies four of the top seven slots in the national ratings (Penn State, 1st; Minnesota, 4th; Illinois, 6th; Purdue, 7th). In addition, Michigan comes in at No. 22 while the Hoosiers are ranked 31st nationally, according to the RPI.
SENIOR NIGHT
Senior captains Juli Pierce and Erica Short bid farewell to Hoosier fans last Saturday night, playing their last match inside University Gym. Each of them leaves Bloomington as one of the greatest players in program history and can both be found atop a career statistical category in the IU record books. Pierce's 1,503 digs are the most ever for a career in IU history while Short's career kill total of 1,863 is also the top mark of all-time.
Pierce also owns the record for most digs in a single season when she dug 481 balls in 2007. Not to be out-done, Short is just 27 kills away from also snagging an all-time single-season mark. Her 528 put-aways thus far in `08 are quickly closing in on the season kills record.
LAST WEEKEND SEES TWO RECORDS BROKEN
Ashley Benson is quickly stamping her name into the IU record books with her superb blocking skills. Benson, who has 159 blocks thus far in 2008, surpassed Mandy Eberle (2005) for the most blocks in a single season. Benson set the freshman single-season record a year ago with 140 stuffs.
Caitlin Cox captured a frosh record of her own last weekend, claiming the top spot on the all-time freshman digs list with 383.
Players Mentioned
