IU sweeps Iowa, loses Sunday

Sporting pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the IU volleyball team presented its largest audience of the season a dominant win Friday on Branch McCracken Court.

The Hoosiers (14-8, 3-5) kicked off the annual Hoosier Hysteria festivities in Assembly Hall with a straight-set victory against Iowa (10-10, 2-6).

IU blanked the Hawkeyes by scores of 25-23, 25-14 and 25-18.

“I don’t think we played great volleyball, but we played good enough to win,” IU coach Sherry Dunbar said.

After outlasting Iowa in a close first set, the Hoosiers cruised in the final two contests to record the second Big Ten sweep of Dunbar’s tenure at IU. The first also came against Iowa on Nov. 10, 2007.

“It’s very hard to beat Big Ten teams in three sets – especially teams like Iowa, because they don’t give up,” Dunbar said. “For us to handle them and do a good job against them, I was really proud of that composure.”

The Hoosiers dominated from the service line, registering eight aces. Freshman defensive specialist Laura Matula posted four of them in the first two sets.

Dunbar attributed Matula’s serving to hard work outside of team practice.

“The reason she’s doing that is because of how much she practices,” Dunbar said. “She comes in extra, she comes in early for practice, stays late. She wants to be a great server, and she knows what an impact that can make in our program.”

Matula said she expects to perform at that level every match.

“I felt like that’s what I should be doing,” Matula said of her four aces. “I expect myself to be at a higher level.”

Matula added that she enjoyed being part of Hoosier Hysteria.

“I love it when people get involved,” she said. “The more people, the better. They see how hard we work, how hard we fight, so maybe the next time we play at (University Gym), they’ll come see us.”

Freshman right-side hitter Kelci Marschall, who contributed nine kills for IU, felt the same way about her first Hoosier Hysteria match.

“It’s awesome,” Marschall said. “It’s a great atmosphere in here with all the fans and everyone here to watch volleyball and watch the basketball teams. It’s just a great experience.”

IU falls to Wisconsin in five sets

The Hoosiers returned to University Gym on Sunday and lost a five-set marathon to Wisconsin.

The Badgers outlasted IU, winning by scores of 25-20, 15-25, 25-22, 17-25 and 15-11.

“Our stats are not bad stats,” Dunbar said. “It’s just making errors at the wrong times and doing things like that.”

Wisconsin freshman hitter Kirby Toon powered the Badgers in all areas, killing 12 balls, recording three aces and posting 3 total blocks.

Errors plagued both teams as they traded sets before going to a decisive fifth frame. IU committed 23 attack errors, 11 service errors and 2 block errors.

Wisconsin recorded 30 attack errors but had only 2 in the other frames.

The final set remained close through a 9-9 score before the Badgers won three consecutive points. The Hoosiers charged back with two more points, but Wisconsin went on to seal the victory at 15-11.

Dunbar said the team needs to play more solid volleyball.

“I just think, consistently, we’ve got to fight harder,” Dunbar said. “It’s too up-and-down. We’ve got to find people who want to do that on a consistent basis, and I think that starts in practice.”