Duo deflects praise toward team

For the second time in as many weeks, junior Christina Archibald and senior Melissa Brewer earned spots on an All-Tournament team. Archibald ended the TIS/Taylor Invitational with 52 kills and 29 digs, while Brewer led the Hoosiers with 54 kills, nine block assists and six service aces in the three match event. The week prior, both Brewer and Archibald earned All-Tournament selections at the Hurricane Invitational in Coral Gables, Fla., as Archibald pounded out 54 kills and recorded 31 digs, while Brewer added 40 kills and seven block assists in total during the three matches.\nBrewer, a first-team All-Big Ten selection last year, is a leading candidate for Academic All-America honors. The Bloomington, Ind., native was named to the Verizon Academic All-District V Volleyball First Team for the second consecutive season in 2002. Brewer was one of eight Hoosiers to earn a spot on the Academic All-Big Ten team. Brewer, who is looking to attend medical school after her volleyball career at IU is finished, says that while both honors are flattering, the accolades she receives for her work in the classroom means more to her.\n"The academic part is more important," Brewer said. "It leads up to what I'm going to do in the future. If you don't have the grades, then you're not going much further."\nAdditionally, Brewer became only the sixth player in IU history to earn Midwest All-Region honors, the first since 1994. \nBrewer recorded 10 or more kills in four straight matches and five of the Hoosiers first six matches so far this season. While an impressive feat itself, the senior middle blocker's streak hails in comparison to one of her teammates'. \nWith her strong performance this past weekend, Archibald has recorded double-digit kills in all six matches and dating back to last season, the Belleville, Ill., native has pounded out at least 10 kills in 17 consecutive matches. With such an outstanding achievement, one would not expect such an athlete to be so modest in description of such a feat, yet the junior outside hitter deflects all credit to her teammates. \n"It's not only me, it takes everyone contributing," Archibald said. "I feel like, if we win, we win as a team, and if we lose, we lose as a team."\nWhile both players have been named to consecutive All-Tournament teams, the honors do not provide them with any consolation for the team's two defeats this season.\n"Everything is done as a team," Brewer said. "If you get All-Tournament it's a nice thing. It doesn't really matter if the team's not winning."\nCoach Katie Weismiller says she is grateful to have both Archibald and Brewer on her team, as the duo has quickly become one of the best in the conference.\n"You definitely have to look at Christina and Melissa, they've been our go-to players," Weismiller said. "They have been terminators. We give them the ball and they definitely want to finish the play. They are two great players, if I was trying to stop them, I'd hate to be an opponent on the other side of the court. These are two of the best."\n-- Contact staff writer Matt Glenesk at mglenesk@indiana.edu.