Team takes on Big Ten rivals on the road

The 2002 women's volleyball team is just two weeks away from learning if they will be eligible for its first NCAA Tournament bid in three years. Running on an 18-10 overall record and 8-8 in the Big Ten, the last two weekends are important for the Hoosiers. This weekend will pit the Hoosier volleyball team against the No. 6 Minnesota Golden Gophers on Friday and the Iowa Hawkeyes Saturday. Unfortunately, both matches will be played on hostile courts. \nBut hostile courts are not the only problems facing the Hoosiers this weekend as the wear and tear of the 32 match season is beginning to show.\n"Our normal team will be in the lineup, but the wear and tear of the season has caught up with them," assistant coach Ryan Theis said. "We're limping into the last two weekends of the season, and the biggest thing is just trying to get healthy."\nThe Hoosiers will have to fight through their physical strain in Friday's match against Minnesota. The Golden Gophers will provide a battle for IU as they are currently first in the Big Ten with a 15-1 conference record and a 28-3 record overall. The Gophers are also hungry for the win, as it would clinch their first Big Ten title outright. 6'2" junior outside hitter Cassie Busse is the Gophers' main offensive force with a 4.16 kills per game average, good for fifth in the Big Ten. She is also the conference leader in service aces with 66 aces this season. 6'2" junior middle blocker Bethany Brafford provides Minnesota's defensive strength with 1.16 blocks per game. Freshman libero Paula Gentil supports Brafford's blocking prowess with a conference leading 4.43 digs per game average.\nSaturday's match will bring the Hoosiers to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes who are running with a lowly 2-14 Big Ten record and 8-18 overall. But, the Hoosiers will not overlook Iowa as sophomore defensive specialist Pam Kadavas ranks third in the conference with 3.47 digs per game. To flank Kadavas' abilities, junior setter Renee Hill plays a balanced game for the Hawkeyes by pacing the offensive team with 3.76 kills per game along with 2.97 digs per game.\nIU sophomore outside hitter Christina Archibald again sits at second in the Big Ten with 4.37 kills per game along with junior middle blocker Melissa Brewer's respectable 3.81 kills per game rating. Sophomore setter Victoria Zimmerman paces the Hoosiers with a 13.68 assists per game, ranking her at second in the conference.\nSuprisingly, one of Minnesota's two Big Ten wins came against the Hoosiers earlier this season. But, the team used the loss as inspiration before and will most likely follow suit this time around.\n"A loss like this hurts deep down, but we are going to take this with us into practice this week and next, any team you lose to you want to come back even harder, and so we will use this," Archibald said after IU's loss against the Golden Gophers Oct. 26th.\nComing off of two straight losses, the Hoosiers are are on a skid as both losses came at the hands of ranked opponents. Last Wednesday's Ohio State match also went down to the wire with the Buckeyes managing to win 18-16 in the fifth game of the match. \n"Losing two in a row in the Big Ten is just part of the schedule, seven of the teams in the Big Ten have had top 25 votes," Theis said. "They're alright and they're focused for the last two weekends.\nThis weekend's pair of formidable opponents brings a real challenge to the team, but senior libero Hillary Toivonen said the Hoosiers remain confident in their abilities and aren't intimidated by their enemies.\n"Everyone knows that it's getting down to crunch time, and if we want to get into the NCAA tournament, that we need to do well," Toivonen said. "They're a good team, they're No. 1 in the Big Ten, but no one's intimidated"