Home court should help start season's second half

Confidence and revenge are on the minds of the women's volleyball team this weekend as they enter the second round of Big Ten play, hosting Iowa and Minnesota. IU has home court advantage after visiting both teams earlier in the month and is looking to continue its newfound winning ways after beating long time rival Purdue last weekend. \n"It was great to get a win, it was great to gain some confidence and now the most difficult thing is knowing we can compete with these teams and now doing it," coach Katie Weismiller said. "We've seen all these teams, we know their level of play and we are going to have to up our play and bring down our unforced errors. But we know that we can compete with them." \nThe Hoosiers' first match of the weekend will pair them against Iowa, whom IU beat after a two game comeback earlier in the season. The battle against Iowa gave IU few problems in the last three games of the match. Freshman outside hitter Christina Archibald and sophomore middle blocker Melissa Brewer scored 21 and 20 kills against the Hawkeyes. \n"The team played with a lot of confidence (against Iowa) and whenever we do that it's an opportunity for anyone to have a good night," Brewer said.\nThe Hawkeyes (I3-14, 1-9) broke their 10-game losing streak and won their first Big Ten match of the season in a win against Northwestern. The Hawkeyes have confidence and are preparing for a tough match with IU, said Iowa head coach Rita Crockett. \n"Indiana is a very scrappy team, and they are very well-coached," Crockett said. "We are going to have to go out and try to play hard. We go in of course being the underdog. Indiana beat us last time 3-2, and we were ahead the first two games, and they came back and won the next three. So we know that they are capable of playing fairly well against us." \nThe second threat of the weekend poses to be a bigger challenge for the Hoosiers, as they gear up to play Minnesota. Minnesota gave IU competition in their last meeting, playing to five games and powering over the Hoosiers in the end. \nMinnesota (11-7, 5-5) is a strong team. Senior powerhouse setter Lindsey Berg and middle hitter Stephanie Hagen gave the Gophers a boost in a victory against Illinois, who was fourth in the Big Ten. Berg has tallied 728 assists and 43 service aces for the season, while Hagen leads the team with 197 kills and 59 blocks. \nThe Hoosiers are looking at University Gym and their confidence from the Purdue victory as major advantages going into the weekend.\n"We are so confident," junior Hillary Toivonen said. "Ending the first half of the Big Ten with a win is huge, and we are ready for Minnesota and Iowa here. Our fan support definitely helps. Minnesota was a tough place to play, because they get a lot of fans. But we are ready to seek some revenge on them"