Hoosiers drop back-to-back matches during weekend

The IU volleyball squad went into this weekend's home matches against Northwestern and Illinois looking to halt a seven-match losing streak. Instead, the Hoosiers dropped both matches to their Big Ten opponents and extended their skid to nine.\nThe Hoosiers lost to the Wildcats three games to one Friday night, then were defeated by the Fighting Illini by the same margin Saturday night in University Gym.\nIn the loss against Northwestern, the Hoosiers dropped the first game 30-22, won the second contest 30-25 and lost the third and fourth frames 30-23 and 30-18, respectively.\nSophomore outside hitters Emily Zulauf and Erica Short led the way for the Hoosiers offensively with 14 kills each, which tied a career-high for Zulauf. Sophomore defensive specialist Juli Pierce led the team defensively and came up with a season-high of 24.\nAgainst Illinois, the Hoosiers took the first game 30-26. The Fighting Illini won the next three frames 30-24, 30-16 and 30-20 to finish off IU.\n"We fought with this team," IU coach Katie Weismiller said. "Defensively, (the Illini) were a scrappy and good team."\nShort led the Hoosier offense with 16 kills and was second on the team defensively with 10 digs. Pierce earned 20 digs, which led the squad on the defensive. \nShort said there are many areas in which the team can improve on from the match against Illinois.\n"We need to work on our defense," Short said. "We need everyone to contribute."\nPart of the defensive disparity was evident in the dig totals for the Hoosiers: Short and Pierce combined for 30 of IU's 44 total digs against Illinois.\nThe Hoosiers also cited communication as an area that needs to be corrected in order to be successful.\nThe Hoosiers are now 10-12 overall and 1-9 in the Big Ten and will face No. 14 Purdue at 7 p.m. Wednesday in West Lafayette.