Indiana University Athletics
Friday, September 25
East Lansing, MI
7:00 PM
Indiana University
at
Michigan State
Indiana Excited for Big Ten Challenges
9/24/2015 1:13:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Big Ten volleyball is tough. There's no way of getting around it.
Four Big Ten teams are ranked in the top-15 and eight in the top-25. Ten conference teams are receiving Top-25 votes and 13-of-14 ended the nonconference with winning percentages over .714.
Even the 2010 Indiana Sweet-16 team didn't have a winning record in the Big Ten. Those Hoosiers went 9-11 in the conference in one of the best seasons in program history.
Indiana (10-2) begins another season of Big Ten play on the road against Michigan State (8-3) on Friday at 7 p.m. before playing Michigan (10-1) on Saturday at 7 p.m.
From now on, there are no nights off, head coach Sherry Dunbar-Kruzan said. It's tough, but it's what her players signed up for. They're expecting to face the best teams the country has to offer game after game.
"There's a reason why you're here and why you choose to play in this conference," Dunbar-Kruzan said. "If you choose it, that's your challenge. You can either take that challenge or back off from it. For us, we're trying to ask them to step up to that challenge."
Unlike in some Big Ten sports, there is no conference tournament in volleyball. A champion is decided through 20 matches over 10 weeks.
Seven of the last nine NCAA champions have come from the Big Ten. Six of those titles belong to Penn State, the defending national champions who won four-straight championships from 2007 to 2010.
No. 1 Penn State is the conference favorite once again, having gone undefeated through the non-conference season without dropping a set, but even the Nittany Lions haven't been untouchable in the Big Ten. They've lost eight conference matches over the last four seasons and have been forced to grind out wins just like everyone else.
"Any team can win on any given night," senior outside hitter Amelia Anderson said. "That's Big Ten volleyball. It's so competitive that any team can come out and show up or not show up. Matches can go either way because the teams are all just so good."
Indiana's 10-2 record through the non-conference schedule is the school's best mark since the 2010 Sweet-16 team's 12-0 start. The Hoosiers win over Northern Colorado extended their winning streak to seven games, making it the third time in the last 14 years the team has won seven or more consecutive matches.
But the Big Ten is different.
"It's hard to explain just what it's like playing at Nebraska in front of 8,000 people or whatever it is on a given night," Anderson said. "There's definitely an increase in intensity that's not always there in the non-conference."
Dunbar-Kruzan held a goal-setting session on Monday, allowing her team the opportunity to hit the reset button as they transition into the Big Ten schedule.
She challenged all 15 of her players to get better at two things in the next 10 games. Whether it be serving opponents out of system two percent more often, increasing hitting percentage or playing more consistently, she wants everyone to improve individually to help the team.
"If all 15 of them can find two things, whatever those things are, we'll be a better team," Dunbar-Kruzan said. "I thought it was a really good visionary meeting where it's not just, 'Okay, let's win a bunch of games.' We had clear, obtainable goals in mind."
Dunbar-Kruzan said she was pleased with the maturity of her team to set obtainable goals. The Hoosiers know going 10-0 over the first half of the Big Ten schedule, for example, isn't realistic for any Big Ten team.
But they will look to hold their ground at home. They're going to try to split road trips and earn Indiana's first winning record in the Big Ten since the turn of the century.
It's going to be tough. It will be challenging. But that's what makes the conference as renowned as it is.
"It's the Big Ten," Anderson said. "It's the best volleyball in the country, and it's go time now."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Big Ten volleyball is tough. There's no way of getting around it.
Four Big Ten teams are ranked in the top-15 and eight in the top-25. Ten conference teams are receiving Top-25 votes and 13-of-14 ended the nonconference with winning percentages over .714.
Even the 2010 Indiana Sweet-16 team didn't have a winning record in the Big Ten. Those Hoosiers went 9-11 in the conference in one of the best seasons in program history.
Indiana (10-2) begins another season of Big Ten play on the road against Michigan State (8-3) on Friday at 7 p.m. before playing Michigan (10-1) on Saturday at 7 p.m.
From now on, there are no nights off, head coach Sherry Dunbar-Kruzan said. It's tough, but it's what her players signed up for. They're expecting to face the best teams the country has to offer game after game.
"There's a reason why you're here and why you choose to play in this conference," Dunbar-Kruzan said. "If you choose it, that's your challenge. You can either take that challenge or back off from it. For us, we're trying to ask them to step up to that challenge."
Unlike in some Big Ten sports, there is no conference tournament in volleyball. A champion is decided through 20 matches over 10 weeks.
Seven of the last nine NCAA champions have come from the Big Ten. Six of those titles belong to Penn State, the defending national champions who won four-straight championships from 2007 to 2010.
No. 1 Penn State is the conference favorite once again, having gone undefeated through the non-conference season without dropping a set, but even the Nittany Lions haven't been untouchable in the Big Ten. They've lost eight conference matches over the last four seasons and have been forced to grind out wins just like everyone else.
"Any team can win on any given night," senior outside hitter Amelia Anderson said. "That's Big Ten volleyball. It's so competitive that any team can come out and show up or not show up. Matches can go either way because the teams are all just so good."
Indiana's 10-2 record through the non-conference schedule is the school's best mark since the 2010 Sweet-16 team's 12-0 start. The Hoosiers win over Northern Colorado extended their winning streak to seven games, making it the third time in the last 14 years the team has won seven or more consecutive matches.
But the Big Ten is different.
"It's hard to explain just what it's like playing at Nebraska in front of 8,000 people or whatever it is on a given night," Anderson said. "There's definitely an increase in intensity that's not always there in the non-conference."
Dunbar-Kruzan held a goal-setting session on Monday, allowing her team the opportunity to hit the reset button as they transition into the Big Ten schedule.
She challenged all 15 of her players to get better at two things in the next 10 games. Whether it be serving opponents out of system two percent more often, increasing hitting percentage or playing more consistently, she wants everyone to improve individually to help the team.
"If all 15 of them can find two things, whatever those things are, we'll be a better team," Dunbar-Kruzan said. "I thought it was a really good visionary meeting where it's not just, 'Okay, let's win a bunch of games.' We had clear, obtainable goals in mind."
Dunbar-Kruzan said she was pleased with the maturity of her team to set obtainable goals. The Hoosiers know going 10-0 over the first half of the Big Ten schedule, for example, isn't realistic for any Big Ten team.
But they will look to hold their ground at home. They're going to try to split road trips and earn Indiana's first winning record in the Big Ten since the turn of the century.
It's going to be tough. It will be challenging. But that's what makes the conference as renowned as it is.
"It's the Big Ten," Anderson said. "It's the best volleyball in the country, and it's go time now."
IUVB: Regional Semifinals - Postgame Press Conference
Friday, December 12
IUVB: Regional Semifinals - Pre-Match Press Conference
Thursday, December 11
IUVB: Selection Sunday Press Conference
Sunday, November 30
IUVB at Purdue: Highlights
Saturday, November 29