Volleyball Takes On Defending National Champs, Penn State Wednesday Night

Volleyball Takes On Defending National Champs, Penn State Wednesday Night

9/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Sept. 29, 2008

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana Hoosiers (8-6, 0-2) welcome the top-ranked and defending national champion Penn State Nittany Lions to Bloomington on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. match inside University Gym. The contest will be nationally broadcast on the Big Ten Network. Brent Stover will provide the play-by-play while Elizabeth Moreau serves as the color commentator.

A live audio broadcast is also available for this match, along with the remainder of IU Volleyball's contests, both home and away. Listen to Jeremy Gray and Matt Taylor call the action all season long by visiting the volleyball schedule page at IUHoosiers.com.

Complete Match Notes

BIG TIMING IN THE BIG TEN
Sophomore Taylor Wittmer picked up her game once the Big Ten schedule began last weekend. In a pair of matches against ranked opponents in Illinois and Purdue, Wittmer recorded 23 kills and a .265 hitting efficiency.

Juli Pierce and Caitlin Cox increased their season averages on the defensive side during the conference contests. Pierce picked up 4.00 digs per set while Cox posted a 3.89 digs per set average.

ALL-TIME DIGS QUEEN
Senior Juli Pierce has the most career digs in school history with 1,373. The former walk-on broke the school record in a sweep over Ball State (Sept. 19), surpassing the previous mark of 1,331 digs compiled by Jen Magelssen (1995-98). Pierce also owns the highest single-season dig total, set last year with 481 digs.

ALL-TIME KILLS QUEEN???
Senior Erica Short is also closing in on a career statistical total that would rank as the greatest in IU Volleyball history. Short has climbed into second place on the all-time kills list with 1,594 put-aways. The Orrville, Ohio native enters the week 214 kills away from matching Christina Archibald's (2001-04) top mark of 1,808 career kills.

THAT'S NOT ALL...
Sophomore Ashley Benson is also making her case to be placed in the IU record books with her .295 career hitting efficiency. Forty-six matches into her Hoosier career, Benson has connected on 432 kills on 998 attempts with 138 errors. Following her next two attempts (matching the 1,000 attempts min.), the Bloomington North High School product will own the best career hitting percentage in school history. (even if Benson records errors on her next two swings, she would still own the highest career efficiency at .292).

BLOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF
For the season, Ashley Benson's 1.55 blocks per set are second in the Big Ten and rank fourth nationally. As a team, the Hoosiers' 2.62 blocks/set are the seventh highest total in the conference and 31st in Division-I volleyball.

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.

SERIAL KILLERS
Erica Short leads the conference with her 5.08 kills per set pace and sits at second in the national rankings. As a team, Indiana's 13.75 average slots them sixth in the Big Ten and 32nd on the national level.

Ashley Benson is not far behind, posting a 3.35 kills/set average, good for 10th in the Big Ten. Benson has not only been effective in her attacks, but also efficient; evidenced by her .344 hitting efficiency which slots her 10th in the conference.

LENDING A HELPING HAND
Setting up most of those kills is the duo of Mary Chaudoin and Hayley Koetter. Chaudoin averages 6.27 assists per set while Koetter chips in 5.47 helpers. Indiana's 12.98 team assists/set rank 19th nationally.

YOU GOT SERVED
Hayley Koetter has a team-high 14 aces on the year. Koetter connected on at least one service ace in four straight matches earlier this season, including a five-ace showing against Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 13). Those five aces placed Koetter into the IU record books with the second most aces ever in a three-set match.