Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Kentucky
Hoosiers Drop 3-1 Decision to Begin UK Invitational
9/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
"I liked the grittiness we showed to win a close second set," said Head Coach Sherry Dunbar. "But we made too many mental mistakes. We have two more matches tomorrow and we need to find a way to win those matches."
Ashley Benson was the top performer for IU on the night, connecting on 21 kills at a .500 pace to go along with six blocks for the Bloomington, Ind., native. Erica Short racked up a ton of kills as well, putting away 22 swings in the match. Defensively, it was Pierce who paced the Hoosiers with 16 blocks while Benson's half-dozen rejections were tops on the team.
Indiana's Kelsey Hall, who sat out last weekend's adidas Classic due to injury, showed no signs of rust as she began the match by serving eight consecutive points to put the Hoosiers up a touchdown, 7-0, to begin the match. Benson was responsible for nearly half of those points, recording three blocks in the opening Hoosier run. Kentucky would battle back, however, pulling even with the Hoosiers at 18-18. A run of unforced errors by IU down the stretch then allowed the Wildcats to win the first set, 25-20.
"Ashley (Benson) continues to really show her personality on the court, and I like that," said Dunbar. "When she's on like tonight, she's tough to handle."
Set number two was full of wild swings in momentum as the lead changed hands six times and the score was tied on 14 different occasions in the set. Benson put the team on her shoulders in the latter parts of the frame, recording a total of six kills and two blocks in leading the Hoosiers to a 28-26 tight victory. After a crafty kill by setter Mary Chaudoin put IU up 27-26, Benson combined with Chaudoin for a set-clinching block.
Benson's hot streak continued in the third set, connecting for a kill on all seven attacks in the set. As a team, Indiana hit a blistering .424 in the second stanza. Despite the highly efficient offense, the Hoosiers still found themselves trailing 10-13 in the early goings. That's when IU went on a 6-1 run to jump ahead 16-14. Hall fueled the hot streak with a pair of kills and precision passing in the back row that led to several Hoosier points. The remainder of the set stayed tight all the way until the end when a kill by UK's Sarah Mendoza gave the Wildcats a 25-23 win.
With their backs against the wall in set four and trailing 12-17, the Hoosiers started to heat up in winning six of the next seven points. Chaudoin placed a perfect set for a kill by Hall to even the score at 18-18. Lauren Rapp of Kentucky took over from there though, pounding four kills in the final nine points to lead UK to a 25-20 victory.
Indiana is back at it on Saturday, playing a pair of matches against Albany (10 a.m.) and Eastern Kentucky (5 p.m.). Live audio for both contests will be available right here at IUHoosiers.com. Jeremy Gray is in Lexington calling all the volleyball action this weekend.
Players Mentioned
