Volleyball: Team takes to road against Sycamores

The volleyball team's undefeated record will be put to the test today, as it travels to Terre Haute to take on Indiana State.\nThe Hoosiers are 6-0 and look to continue their success.\n"Facing another team in Indiana, we want to show that we are the best team in the state," sophomore setter Laurie Gardner said. "It's another match we can get under our belt before we go into the Big Ten season."\nThe Hoosiers are coming off successful weekend play. The team traveled to Pittsburgh and returned with three wins. \nIU is hoping to keep up the intensity it gained this past weekend and to continue improving while facing its intrastate competition.\nIndiana State University (4-3) dropped two games last weekend at the Loyola-Marymount Classic. The team managed to gain a victory against Central Michigan, but lost against No. 21 Loyola Marymount and Connecticut.\nDespite its perfect record, IU spent its Monday practice watching film and picking up on its offense in preparation for the match.\nGardner said she and the team anticipate a good match against the Sycamores, although they lost last weekend.\nConfidence is on the Hoosiers' side. IU leads the series against Indiana State by 17-2, and freshman outside hitter Nicole Hill said the improvement the team has shown will help them against the Sycamores.\n"In our last tournament (in Pittsburgh), we built up our confidence," Hill said. "We had big improvements this weekend in our offense, and we want to continue with that."\nIU posted several season highs this past weekend. Gardner tied her season-best against Pittsburgh and Arkansas with 49 assists. She also racked up three aces, the most by anyone on the team this year. Senior outside hitter Amanda Welter managed to post a .609 hitting percentage for the Hoosiers against Pittsburgh.\nAs a team, the Hoosiers had five new season highs. They include total hitting percentage by the team, which was .343. IU had seven aces against Arkansas and Pittsburgh. The Hoosiers also set new highs in solo blocks and total blocks.\n"We want to play at the level we played this weekend," senior defensive specialist JoAnne Amstutz said. "Hopefully everything will go smoothly"