Home tourney offers chance to iron out kinks

IU's women's volleyball team will compete in the second annual T.I.S/Taylor Invitational this weekend. Last year, Dayton University took home the inaugural championship, as the Hoosiers finished 2-1 for the tournament.\nIU's play in the tournament begins Friday night at 7:00 p.m. against IUPUI, then the Hoosiers continue their tournament play Saturday at noon versus Southeast Missouri State, before concluding the two-day event against Wisconsin-Green Bay at 7:30 p.m. All matches will be played at the University Gym.\nThe Hoosiers return home from a trip last weekend to Coral Gables, Fla., where they competed in the Hurricane Invitational. The Hoosiers won their first two matches against Kent State and Manhattan, respectively, but fell in the championship match to host Miami. \nIn Miami, the Hoosiers were led by junior Christina Archibald and senior Melissa Brewer, who were both named to the All-Tournament team. Archibald finished the two-day event with 54 kills and 31 digs, and Brewer added 40 kills and seven block assists.\n"Opening weekend we did OK, we can be better," coach Katie Weismiller said. "It's the small things, the attention to detail, that we have to do a better job with. We've got a long way to go. We've got to get back and work out some kinks on the court. Take it one game, one match at a time."\nThe T.I.S/Taylor Invitational consists of four teams; IU, IUPUI, Southeast Missouri State and Wisconsin-Green Bay. The Jaguars of IUPUI come into the tournament with an identical situation as their IU counterparts, taking two matches at the Morehead State Eagle Classic, but losing to the host, Morehead State. \nSoutheast Missouri State enters the tournament riding a four-match losing streak, but despite their poor start the Otahkians are still one of the favorites in the Ohio Valley Conference. IU's third and final opponent, Wisconsin-Green Bay, started its season in grand fashion, winning three matches en route to capturing the championship at the Super 8 Classic in Mt. Pleasant, Mich.\nWith the Big Ten being one of the most dominant and competitive conferences in the nation as the conference sent a record eight teams to the NCAA Tournament last year, the Hoosiers cannot afford to overlook the preseason schedule, as the early matches offer the team a chance to iron out any problems.\n"These games are really important to us," Archibald said. "We get everybody gelling together during theses games before we get into the tough portion of our schedule. It is really important for us to all play together right now."\nThe preseason schedule has afforded the Hoosiers an opportunity to play some key players who are healthy for the beginning of the season. Last season Archibald and senior Nikki Hill played in all 33 matches and 130 games, but did so while battling nagging injuries.\n"Preseason is a chance for some people to come back from injury, get into a rhythm," Brewer said. "It's very important, and gives us a chance to work on our communication."\n-- Contact staff writer Matt Glenesk at mglenesk@indiana.edu.