Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
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Mississippi State
Hoosiers Win Indiana Invitational
9/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – As the Indiana volleyball team neared match point in the championship contest of the Indiana Invitational, IU head coach Sherry Dunbar-Kruzan looked down the bench and called for her freshman Jessica Leish to enter the game.
At first Leish thought someone needed water, but then realized the coach was calling her number.
After getting over some nerves, shaking on the court, Leish delivered two kills, including a kill on match point to give the Hoosiers a 3-1 victory over Mississippi State and the Indiana Invitational title.
The Hoosiers won the match 25-22, 25-19, 20-25, 25-17 and moved to 6-0 for the season. It is the sixth time in program history IU volleyball has started 6-0 and the first time since 2010.
“We faced some adversity this weekend, but we found a way to win,” IU head coach Sherry Dunbar-Kruzan said. “It wasn’t our best at times, but it was good enough to win and I’m proud of them for stepping up and working hard to get three more wins.”
Four different Hoosiers registered double-digit kills, led by senior Morgan Leach with 14. Leach was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, her second MVP honor of the season.
Sophomore Taylor Lebo also earned a spot on the All-Tournament team and helped the Hoosiers secure the tournament title with 11 kills, 11 digs and five service aces. Fellow sophomore Jazzmine McDonald joined Lebo on the All-Tournament team.
Junior Courtney Harnish led the defensive effort with 26 digs and sophomore Megan Tallman quarterbacked the offense with 47 assists.
After IU got off to a 2-0 start in the match, Mississippi State responded and jumped out to a 17-11 lead and won the third set, 25-20.
The Hoosiers seized back the momentum as a Harnish service ace brought IU to a 6-2 lead in set four. Mississippi State would tie the match at 7-7, but that is the closest they would get for the remainder of the match.
Junior Amelia Anderson connected on one of 11 Indiana service aces for the match to bring the Hoosiers to a 15-11 lead.
The Bulldogs closed the gap to 15-14, but the Hoosiers were determined to keep their unblemished record alive and pushed to a 20-16 on a kill by junior Awele Nwaeze.
Back-to-back service aces from the high flying jump serve of Lebo gave the Hoosiers a 22-16 advantage and than it was time for the freshman to shine.
Leish, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, got the Hoosiers final two points on sets from Tallman and the Hoosiers captured the match and tournament title.
“I’m very happy with the 6-0 start to the season, which is a huge accomplishment,” Dunbar-Kruzan said. “We have a lot more we want to accomplish this season so we are going to be critical of our performance and push them to be better.”
Up next the Hoosiers travel to Chicago for the UIC Invitational, Sept. 12, where they will matchup against the University of Chicago and Eastern Kentucky.
