Volleyball team take 2 of 3 matches on weekend

Despite having their opening match postponed due to bus problems and severe weather, the IU volleyball team won two out of three matches as they began their season in DeKalb, Ill., playing in the Northern \nIllinois Invitational.\nIn the team’s first match Saturday, the Hoosiers defeated host Northern Illinois University 3-2 in a tight, back and forth match. IU took the first game 30-25 before dropping the next two to the Huskies 28-30 and 22-30, respectively. \nDown early in the fourth game, the Hoosiers stormed back to tie the contest at 11 with five consecutive points. To force a fifth game, IU won nine of the last 11 points to win the game 30-20. In the decisive fifth game, the Hoosiers prevailed 15-10 due in part to the efforts of junior Erica Short who led the team with 22 kills. \nFreshman setter Mara Hilgenberg, in her first game as a Hoosier, displayed no signs of her inexperience, finishing with 56 assists.\n“I had a lot of excitement this weekend,” she said. \nThe Hoosiers’ second match on Saturday was against Western Illinois University. IU took the first game with relative ease 30-15, but the Westerwinds fought back to claim a close second game 29-31. From there it was all IU, as the Hoosiers claimed the last two games 35-33 and 30-23 to win the match 3-1. Once again, Short had a strong performance, recording 28 kills. \nSenior co-captain Juli Pierce and junior Jessica Langert each finished with career highs in digs, with 25 and 13 digs respectively. Hilgenberg racked up 66 assists in the match and also recorded her first 20-dig match as a Hoosier. Senior Lauren Ditteon had an impressive all-around performance with 15 kills, 10 digs, six assists, two aces and two blocks. \nWith the win, the Hoosiers improved to 2-0 and had a chance to win the invitational against Western Kentucky University. \nIn the tournament finale, the Hoosiers failed to take a game from the Hilltoppers, losing 3-0 (23-30, 27-30, 28-30). Short led the team with ten kills, while Pierce had eight digs.\nOverall, first-year IU coach Sherry Dunbar said she was pleased with the weekend.\n“This was a good tourney for our team to get our feet wet,” Dunbar said. “We’ve haven’t done as much six-on-six in practice, so this tournament was good experience.” \nPierce and Dunbar both agreed that defense is one thing the Hoosiers need to keep improving upon. \nIU will be back in action next Friday as they head to Knoxville, Tenn., to take part in a tournament at the University of Tennessee. Their first opponent will be Belmont University.