A Look Back at the 2008 IU Volleyball Season

Senior captains Juli Pierce and Erica Short

12/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Dec. 2, 2008

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - IUHoosiers.com looks back at just a few of the many accomplishments made by the 2008 IU Volleyball team...

The '08 edition of Hoosier Volleyball far exceeded the experts' expectations, earning sole possession of sixth place in the Big Ten standings after being picked to finish 10th in the preseason poll. Indiana did so by going 17-15 overall and 9-11 in conference play.

"I'm disappointed for the players that the committee didn't think our resume was strong enough to make the NCAAs this year," said Head Coach Sherry Dunbar. "I felt with our strength of schedule and significant wins that we would be a great candidate to represent the Big 10. This gives us great motivation for the off-season to keep earning the respect of the country that Indiana is a program on the rise and ready to be a national contender on a regular basis. After the selection show, our players were very adamant about never giving the committee an option about whether Indiana should be in the tournament; and that made me even more excited to get back in the gym with them this spring."

TURNAROUND CONTINUES
The Cream and Crimson continued a quick turnaround in year number two of the Sherry Dunbar Era. In 2007, the Hoosiers won six Big Ten matches after earning just five in the previous three seasons combined. The Hoosiers took another big step forward this season, winning nine conference contests and putting themselves into serious NCAA Tournament contention.

MONUMENTAL WINS
Indiana showed the ability to compete with the nation's elite, owning four victories over NCAA Tournament qualifiers. The Hoosiers' most impressive win may have been a 3-1 winner over the sixth-seeded Golden Gophers of Minnesota. That win came one week after Indiana went on the road and topped then-No. 21 Wisconsin. It marked the first time since 2002 that IU downed two ranked conference opponents in the same season. The triumph over Minnesota is the highest-ranked opponent IU has beaten since taking out No. 11 Ohio State on Sept. 25, 2002.

Additional NCAA qualifiers Indiana defeated this season include Louisville, San Francisco and Albany.

RE-WRITING THE RECORD BOOKS
The 2008 season will be smeared all over the IU record books as numerous individuals broke or entered the top-10 in all-time statistical categories, including:

 Juli Pierce became Indiana's All-Time Digs Queen this season, finishing her career with 1,524 digs. The previous record was 1,331 by Jen Magelssen (1995-98).

 Erica Short joined her classmate at the top, becoming Indiana's All-Time Kills Queen, surpassing Christina Archibald (2001-04) with 1,889 career put-aways.

 Short's 554 kills this season are the second-most in school history, just one shy of Archibald's 555 kills in 2002.

 Short connected on 24 kills in a 3-0 sweep of Valparaiso to mark the highest total ever by a Hoosier in a three-set match.

 Ashley Benson shattered the school record for most blocks in a single season, compiling 167 rejections on the year. She blew by the previous top mark of 155 stuffs, set by Mandy Eberle in 2005.

 Benson's .303 season hitting efficiency is the sixth highest percentage all-time at IU.

 Caitlin Cox dug a team-high 402 balls this season, the most ever for a freshman. That total also ranks fourth all-time for a single season, regardless of class. Pierce set the bar for single-season digs with 481 last year.

 Hayley Koetter stroked five service aces during a 3-0 sweep of Eastern Kentucky, the second most ever for a three-set match.

 Short and Benson can also now be found on the career blocks list. Short's 317 blocks slot her seventh all-time, while Benson has racked up 309 swats for eighth place with two full seasons left in her Hoosier career.

 Indiana's sweep of San Francisco earlier this season is arguably the best three-set blocking effort in school history. The school record for most blocks in a three-set match is 15 set back in 1996. However, the 14 rejections against USF were tallied in the new 25-point set era rather than the old 30-points per set format played in previous seasons.

"I'm so proud of our senior class," said Dunbar. "Obviously their accolades speak for themselves and will be a new standard for Indiana Volleyball. More importantly, they set a precedent this year for the future of our program. They left the program better than when they arrived and will be missed greatly by all of us."

HOOSIER HYSTERIA
Indiana Volleyball ignited a crowd of over 8,000 with a 3-1 win over Ohio State, kicking off the Hoosier Hysteria festivities with a bang.

It was a complete team effort inside Assembly Hall as five different Hoosiers recorded nine or more kills and six individuals posted nine or more digs. Erica Short's 16 kills paced the Hoosiers and Caitlin Cox's 15 digs were tops on the team. Lexie Woodson tallied nine kills, a .412 hitting efficiency and four blocks on the night.

ALL-BIG TEN PERFORMERS
Three members of the IU Volleyball team were recognized by the Big Ten Conference for their outstanding play on the court. Ashley Benson was named to the 13-member All-Big Ten Team, Erica Short earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention laurels and Caitlin Cox played her way onto the All-Freshman Team. Click here for the complete release.

"To have Ashley and Cate earn All Big Ten honors as young as they are says a lot about the future of our program," said Dunbar. "They both represent what Indiana Volleyball is all about and I look forward to watching them grow to even bigger and better things both on and off the court."