IU looks to end long conference losing streak

After starting the season with a 9-4 record and winning its first two Big Ten contests, including one against a ranked Minnesota team, the IU volleyball team looked and acted the part of a team with aspirations of a deep NCAA Tournament run. \nA month later, the Hoosiers are still stuck on win number nine and have dropped their last 10 matches in disturbing fashion. During the 10-match skid, the Hoosiers have won only five games while dropping 30, and have been swept on six occasions during that stretch.\nThe Hoosiers (9-14, 2-10 Big Ten) are in desperate need of victories if the team is to have any chance at even reaching the tournament. \n"You can't think about 2-10, it's not going to get you anywhere," coach Katie Weismiller said. "We're focused on how do we change it. It would be nice to finish 10-10, and we still have that opportunity." \nThis weekend the Hoosiers welcome No. 17 Penn State and Ohio State to University Gym. The Nittany Lions (20-4, 9-3) have been among the Big Ten's elite programs for almost three decades. Last weekend they picked up win number 20 against Illinois, marking the 27th consecutive 20-win season in the program's 28-year history. The Nittany Lions currently sit in second place in the Big Ten, one game behind Minnesota. Oct. 4, the Hoosiers traveled to State College, Pa., to face the Lions and were dispatched in three games.\nOhio State comes into this weekend with a 9-11 record and a 3-9 clip in the Big Ten. Last weekend the Buckeyes upset then-ranked Illinois before falling to Northwestern. The Buckeyes are led by the reigning Big Ten player of the week, Stacey Gordon. Gordon pounded 28 kills against Illinois and collected another 32 kills against Northwestern. Earlier in the season, the Hoosiers, then 2-0 in conference play, ventured east to Columbus, Ohio, to battle the Buckeyes and were subsequently swept, starting the Hoosiers downward spiral.\nAs the season has progressed, Weismiller has been inserting some of the younger players into the rotation. Freshman Lindsay Cochrane has provided the Hoosiers with some solid play and has appeared in 67 games this season including four starts. Sophomores Mandy Eberle and Ashley White and freshman Tasha Arsenych each notched their first collegiate starts the past two weekends.\nWith the younger players getting more of an opportunity to showcase their talents, some would assume that Weismiller is already looking ahead to next year. \n"We still have hope for this season," Weismiller said. "We still feel like this is a group that we can play, we can compete, and we can win with. We just have to get it together, and I think they know that. They're ready to step it up."\nOne problem stemming from playing a lot of the younger players is a lack of communication. With some new faces on the court, many of whom have not played significant minutes together, communication and cohesion as a unit can be hard to achieve. \n"I think communication has really struggled," senior middle blocker Melissa Brewer said. "We need to talk on the court. No one is talking out there. We need to step it up. Also our confidence has diminished. It's hard to have confidence with a 2-10 record, and the only way to get out of that is to start winning, and we plan on doing that this weekend."\nPractice this week has been high on intensity, and the team seems focused and ready to put an end to the losing streak. This weekend offers the team that opportunity, but a border-line great Penn State team and a tough Ohio State squad are not going to make it easy on the Hoosiers.\n"We still focus for every match one match at a time," junior middle blocker Katie Pollom said. "We're coming out this weekend with a huge match against Penn State, and we're going to come out focused. We're going to come out ready, and we're going to come out looking to win."\n-- Contact staff writer Matt Glenesk at mglenesk@indiana.edu.