Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Ohio State
Indiana Tops Buckeyes, 3-1, Strengthening NCAA Tourney Resume
11/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 29, 2008
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Indiana University volleyball team concluded the 2008 regular season with a 3-1 (14-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-21) victory at Ohio State Saturday night. The Hoosiers improve to 17-15 overall, 9-11 in the Big Ten and now await their post-season fate after clinching sole possession of sixth place in the conference standings.
The NCAA Selection Show is scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. eastern time Sunday night (Nov. 30). It will be broadcast on ESPNU with complete analysis to follow on ESPNEWS at 10:30.
"In or out (off the NCAA Tournament), I'm so proud of these girls," said Head Coach Sherry Dunbar. "To fight, scratch and claw like they did tonight, and really like they have all season long, just shows their character and desire to win."
Against the Buckeyes, it was a three-headed attack offensively for IU as Mary Chaudoin dished out 34 assists to a trio of Hoosiers recording double-digit kills. Ashley Benson paced the team with 17 put-aways, followed closely by Erica Short's 16 kills and 14 by Kelsey Hall.
"Mary (Chaudoin) did a great job tonight," said Dunbar. "I liked the confidence she had in her hitters, she continued to go back to them time and time again. She had the hot-hand tonight and really played well."
In her final regular season match donning the Cream and Crimson, senior Juli Pierce wore the "home" Cream jersey specifically, as the team's libero. The Georgetown, Ind., native responded with a team-high 18 digs in the contest. Chaudoin added 10 digs of her own to the cause. Indiana out-blocked the Buckeyes 14-11, led by Benson's six block assists.
The opening set was not pretty for the IU faithful in attendance at St. John Arena, witnessing a 25-14 defeat by the hands of a hungry Buckeyes squad. Ohio State's upper-hand would not last for long, however.
Trailing 1-4 to start the second set, Indiana found their groove and rattled off six consecutive points for the 7-4 edge. Ohio State was then able to respond and regain a lead at 15-14. The Hoosiers counterpunched right back though, grabbing the next four points and taking a lead that they would not relinquish. Benson hammered home six kills in the set while Pierce dug up seven balls. Benson finished off the Buckeyes with her 11th kill of the match for point number 25.
The game flow of set number three was very similar to that of the second frame; seeing Indiana jump out to an early lead, give up that advantage, only to come back and put together another run to seal the deal. An early five-point lead for Indiana was erased when OSU knotted the score at 12-12. Moments later, a nine-point stretch that included seven points in favor of the Hoosiers catapulted IU back ahead by a good margin once again at 19-15. Short guided her team down the stretch run, compiling five kills in the 25-20 triumph.
The aforementioned trio of Hoosier attackers really stepped it up the fourth and final set, each posting five kills as Indiana tallied 17 total as a team. Ohio State tied the score at 5-5 and 6-6, but could never take a lead or even the score the rest of the way. Indiana's defensive frontcourt was spectacular in the clinching set, sending back six Buckeye attacks and limiting OSU to a .053 hitting efficiency.
Indiana has now won three of the last four meetings with Ohio State.
"Ohio State played very hard and have been tough to beat the last few weeks," said Dunbar. "We knew it was their last match of the season and they wanted to go out with a win. We were going to have to earn it tonight and I thought we did."
Players Mentioned
