Hoosiers host weekend tournament

One week after finishing in second place at the Maryland Tournament, the women's volleyball team will try to improve on a 7-2 record, their seventh best start in team history. They play host to Central Michigan, Butler and Louisville in the IU Credit Union tournament this weekend. \nThe Hoosiers have won two in a row and four out of five, and with a win Friday night against Central Michigan, will have tied last year's win total of eight. Last weekend at the Maryland tournament, the Hoosiers lost their opening match to the Terrapins, but then came back to beat Loyola Marymount and Boston College 3-2.\n"It is important that we keep this momentum and winning streak going into, and through, the weekend," senior libero Hillary Toivonen said.\nToivonen leads the team with 3.06 digs per game, a statistic she said she takes a lot of pride in.\n"I want to be a defender that my whole team can count on," she said.\nIU will battle Central Michigan at 7 p.m. Friday night to open the tournament. The Chippewas enter the match with a 3-6 record. Senior middle hitter Kendra Devries leads the Chippewas with a 352 hitting percentage and 3 kills per game.\nOn Saturday afternoon, the Hoosiers will face off against in-state rival Butler, which enters the contest on a two game winning streak. IU is prepared for the Bulldogs best fight, head coach Katie Weismiller said.\n"We are Butler's biggest match of the season," coach Katie Weismiller said. "They will be after us."\nThe third and final match of the tournament has IU facing the 30th ranked Louisville Cardinals. The Cardinals match the Hoosiers with a 7-2 record. The last time the two teams met was in 1996, when the Hoosiers lost 3-0. \nThis tournament marks the conclusion of the non-conference schedule, but is only the Hoosiers' fourth home game. They own a 2-1 record at University Gym and said they understand the importance of establishing themselves at home.\n"We want to show our home fans how we can play this year," sophomore middle blocker Katie Pollom said. "We need to compete hard with our home fans watching." \nPollom leads the team with 1.18 blocks per game.\nDuring the Hoosiers 7-2 start this season, they have a match record of 23-11, while averaging almost four kills per game more than their opponent.\n"We want to keep our winning streak alive." Weismiller said. "I believe we will play well this weekend"