IU volleyball battles hard, but falls at home to rival Purdue

In front of one of the largest and most energetic crowds to ever watch an IU volleyball match, the Hoosiers suffered a heartbreaking loss to No. 19 Purdue on Saturday at University Gym. 

With a crowd of 1,442 fans backing them up, the Hoosiers fought point for point with the Boilermakers before eventually dropping a five-set thriller.

IU coach Sherry Dunbar could not believe the support from the near-capacity crowd and thinks the fans will return again in the future after the effort the Hoosiers gave.

“I think they are going to come back,” Dunbar said. “The atmosphere was unbelievable, and I was so happy the fans showed up, and it really helped us a ton.”

IU sophomore Hayley Koetter was also thrilled by how loud the fans were.

“It was awesome,” Koetter said. “I loved playing in front of a crowd like this. It makes everything so much more intense.”

In terms of the match, Dunbar was proud of the effort the Hoosiers showed, despite the result.

“That was the first time I have seen us play with that kind of heart and fight,” she said. “We were all over the place digging balls, and that is the sign of a team with a lot of heart.”

The Hoosiers beat Purdue in almost every statistical category available. They out-killed the Boilermakers 73-63, out-dug them 77-60 and beat them in overall points 88.5-76.5.

In Friday’s game against Illinois, senior Erica Short led the Hoosiers with 25 kills and seven blocks. In all, the Hooisers sent back 15 Illini shots, but lost the match three sets to one after taking the opening set.

With the pair of losses, the Hoosiers dropped to 8-6 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten.  
Things will get even harder for the Hoosiers when they return to action Wednesday at University Gym to face defending national champion and top-ranked Penn State.

IU sophomore Taylor Whittmer hopes to use the Purdue match as a springboard for staying with Penn State.

“Coming off tonight is great,” Whittmer said. “We showed our fight and on any given night anything can happen.”