Hoosiers lose first 2 matches open conference play

Starting the season, the IU volleyball team knew the Big Ten would be a constant battle.

“We have been talking a lot about fighting and fighting in the Big Ten to get wins,” junior outside hitter Ivie Obeime said. “We’ve had a problem bringing (that fight) over from practice. We have great practices, and then in games there’s a little gap missing right there, and we are trying to figure it out.”

Despite flashes of effective team play, Obeime and the Hoosiers lost both of their games this weekend against No. 18 Michigan and Michigan State to drop to 8-6 this season and 0-2 in the Big Ten.

Friday, the Wolverines — led by outside hitters Lexi Erwin and Alex Hunt — swept the Hoosiers in straight sets.

Erwin led the Wolverines with 14 kills while Hunt added 11 kills and three aces herself.
During the match, many of the Wolverines’ kills were the result of deflecting the ball off of the arms of the Hoosiers’ block. Hunt said the Wolverines’ game plan started with an aggressive serve and ended with strong play at the net.

“I tried to get (their defense) out of system and to serve as hard as I could,” Hunt said. “It’s always smarter to try and hit off the blockers hands then into the meat of the  block.”

Junior right-side hitter Kelci Marschall had nine kills, Samantha Thrower had seven kills and Obeime had six kills, but IU had a .100 percentage.

Marschall said the Hoosiers did not match the intensity of the Wolverines.

“We didn’t come out with the same fire and aggressiveness that they had,” Marschall said. “That mentality really determines a match.”

After dropping the Big Ten opener, the Hoosiers welcomed the Spartans into University Gym on Saturday night. Like the Hoosiers, the Spartans got swept in their conference opener Friday night against No. 13 Purdue.

Led by the trio of Obeime, Marschall and freshman middle blocker Morgan Leach with four kills each, the Hoosiers jumped out to a quick start against the Spartans taking the first set 25-15.

Sophomore defensive specialist Melanie Hicks began with three aces in the first set including back-to-back aces that pushed the Hoosiers’ lead to 12-2 early.

The Spartans responded to the Hoosiers’ first set intensity in the next two sets by not allowing the Hoosiers to take the lead at any point in the second and third set.

Trailing two sets to one, the fourth set featured 11 ties and four lead changes as the Hoosiers tied the score at 14-14, but eventually fell to the Spartans 25-18.

Hicks finished with three aces and four service errors. Obeime and Marschall led the team’s attack with 15 and 13 kills, respectively.

Obeime said she ended the weekend more confident than she was entering the weekend after putting up 21 kills in two games.

“Everything was kind of flowing for me, and I was pretty confident out there,” Obeime said. “It was one of those things where even if I did do well, the team didn’t win, so I need to add on to what I was doing or tweak a little thing to get the team a win.”

IU Coach Sherry Dunbar said she felt Obeime took some big steps in opening weekend of Big Ten play.

“With a big block in front of her, I thought she stayed aggressive,” Dunbar said. “She stayed confident even when she got blocked, but she would come back with another aggressive swing, and that’s what great hitters do.”