IU volleyball hosts Penn State, Ohio State

On Friday, the IU volleyball team (10-4, 1-1) will face its toughest competition to date. IU will be taking on No. 3 Penn State at 7 p.m. in the \nUniversity Gym.\nAfter playing Penn State on Friday evening, the Hoosiers will have to refocus as they take on another quality opponent, Ohio State (7-4, 1-1), at 7 p.m. Saturday in the University Gym. \nComing into the weekend, Penn State is 2-0 in the conference and 10-2 overall. IU coach Sherry Dunbar said she holds the team in high regard. \n“They are a team without a lot of weaknesses, and that is the reason for their high ranking,” Dunbar said. \nPenn State will bring something to the table the Hoosiers have not faced all year: size. Penn State’s roster possesses seven players listed at 6-foot-2 or taller and two players listed at 6-foot-4. By contrast, IU only has two players listed at 6-foot-2 or taller. \nLeading the way for Penn State is 6-foot-4 junior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett. Last season, Fawcett was an American Volleyball Coaches Association First Team All-American and a unanimous choice for First Team All-Big Ten. Thus far this season, she leads the conference in average kills per game – IU’s Erica Short ranks second in that category – and total points per game.\nThe Nittany Lions play a style that takes advantage of their height, Dunbar said. \n“They like to hit the ball to the outside to their 6’3,” 6’4” all-conference big hitters,” she said. \nThe Penn State game will no doubt be a challenge for the Hoosiers as a whole, but especially for three freshmen who see significant playing time – middle blocker Ashley Benson, setter Mara Hilgenberg and middle blocker Taylor Wittmer. It will be the Hoosiers’ first contest against a team ranked in the top 10 nationally.\nSenior right side Lauen Ditteon said tough competition will help the freshmen in the long run. \n“The more they play against tough teams, the more comfortable and confident they will get,” Ditteon said. \nDunbar agreed, saying, “The freshmen are definitely excited. For those girls, I think this is why they came to IU – to play against elite competition. This will be a good learning experience.” \nBesides worrying about Penn State, the Hoosiers have to maintain a high level of play throughout the match, something they struggled with last weekend. \n“Last weekend against Minnesota, our competitiveness was awesome the first game,” Dunbar said. “Then the second and third game was not so competitive. I’m trying to stress we need to get better every game.”\nPrior to this week, Ohio State had been ranked in the Top 25. Dunbar says their style is different from Penn State’s, because Ohio State is fast and plays a combination of styles. \nOhio-native Short denied that she has any extra incentive to beat a team to which she has home ties. \n“This is like any other game, but if we do beat them, I will be excited,” she said.