Volleyball team set to play 1st fall home games

The IU volleyball team will finally debut at home this weekend when it hosts the IU adidas Classic this Friday and Saturday. The team comes into this weekend’s play riding a tournament win last weekend at the Valparaiso Popcorn Classic in Valparaiso, Ind. It was IU’s first tournament win after two second-place finishes in previous tournaments this season. \nThe location of this weekend’s tournament, Assembly Hall, is something of a home away from home. \nThe Hoosiers usually play their home games at the University Gym, located at Tenth Street and the State Route 45/46 Bypass. The team may have to get used to a different atmosphere when it plays at Assembly Hall. \n“It is a lot bigger than we are used to,” freshman middle blocker Taylor Wittmer said.\n Despite playing in a semi-foreign venue, IU coach Sherry Dunbar and several players expressed excitement about \nplaying at Assembly Hall. \n“It’s a cool thing playing at such a prestigious place,” Dunbar said. \nThe match begins at 10 a.m., and the volleyball team will use that time to get fans riled up before the IU football team hosts Akron later that day at noon at Memorial Stadium. \n“This is a good opportunity to help us with marketing our team,” Dunbar said.\nThe last three weeks, the squad has shown how versatile it can be, placing six of its women on all-tournament teams in the three preseason tournaments that it competed in. \n“The team’s been really stepping up,” Dunbar said.\nRecently, the play of sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Hall has caused Dunbar to take notice. Hall – a transfer from UCLA, who Dunbar said was inconsistent at the beginning of the season – was named to the all-tournament team last weekend at Valparaiso. \n“I have just had to step up and play better,” Hall said.\nThe tournament also marks the last tune-up the team gets before entering conference play at Iowa next Friday. \n“We need to limit errors, control our side of the court, definitely continue to work on our communication,” Wittmer said.\nThe Hoosiers face three formidable opponents, beginning Friday when they take on East Tennessee State at 7 p.m. They are the defending regular-season Atlantic Sun Conference champion and came into this season slated to finish second in their conference behind Belmont, a team the Hoosiers defeated earlier this season 3-0. At 10 a.m. Saturday, the squad will take on North Carolina Central, a team entering its first season of D-I volleyball. \nLast season, while playing in Division II, they won a school-record 32 games en route to a conference championship. The Hoosiers will likely have to go through a ranked team – No. 23 St. John’s – in the final match of the tournament, set to be played at 8 p.m. A perfect record on the weekend will give the Hoosiers their second tournament victory of the season.