Indiana University Athletics
Shorthanded Hoosiers Go 2-1 in First Spring Action
4/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
April 5, 2011
Indiana Volleyball started the spring season off at the Kentucky Indiana Volleyball Academy (KIVA) this past weekend. Host to nearly 20 intercollegiate teams, the KIVA Collegiate Invite provided an excellent venue with plenty of great competition. Indiana went 2-1 on Saturday beating Tennessee Tech. and University of Cincinnati while losing a tough match against Western Kentucky.
The team was up to the challenge of competing without a true setter due to illness and injury on Saturday and rose to the the occasion with stellar performances from each of the stand-in setters, otherwise known as IU defensive specialists Caitlin Cox, Caitlin Hansen and Melanie Hicks.
Coach Dunbar said she shared with the team before the day began that they had the ability to play winning volleyball, even without a true setter.
"I told the team that I felt like we could still accomplish a lot of things even though we didn't have setters there," said Dunbar. "Our focus has been on communication in practice and bettering the ball as hitters and those things were still very applicable in the situation we had. The tournament allowed us to see some specific things that we want to focus on the remainder of the spring season including serving, scrappy defense and hitting efficiency. Playing out of your comfort zone can be a good thing and I think it allowed players to step up and do things they wouldn't normally do".
Overall the tournament helped IU make gains in a number of areas that will help translate into areas of focus for future competition and practices.
The Hoosiers host Purdue this Saturday at University Gym. For full coverage of IU Volleyball, stay tuned to IUHoosiers.com.
