Volleyball team begins season with scrimmage

Saturday marked the beginning of the Hoosiers’ volleyball season as the team split into two squads for the annual Cream and Crimson scrimmage at
University Gym.

The tune-up was preparation for the team before heading to West Point, N.Y., for the Black Knight Invitational next weekend.

The crimson squad won the match by taking two of the three sets, but many players switched teams between sets.

Freshman outside hitter Amelia Anderson finished the match by recording two straight aces to secure the win for the Crimson team 27-25 in the third set.

“I’ve been coming here since my sophomore year (of high school),” Anderson said. “It’s just really exciting to put that jersey on, and even though it’s not for a real game, just being in the gym and the atmosphere, it’s really exciting.”

IU Coach Sherry Dunbar said she was impressed with Anderson and the other freshmen in their first experience playing in front of a collegiate crowd.

“I thought our freshmen did a pretty good job for their first time on the floor,” Dunbar said.

“I thought Amelia did well when she came up with those two aces at the end. That’s really tough for a freshman to do.”

Anderson, a 6-foot-1-inch freshman, is one of five to come into the IU program this fall. Right-side hitter Mariah Coleman, defensive specialist Courtney Harnish, setter Katie Gallagher and defensive specialist Kyndall Merritt also played for the first time in their collegiate careers.

The only player missing from action was senior setter Whitney Granado.
Granado, the team’s setter, is currently battling a case of mononucleosis. IU Assistant Coach Paul Koncir said she is not expected to be ready to compete for the Hoosiers  until Big Ten play starts in late September.

Dunbar said the point of having a scrimmage is to get nerves out of the way early so her players can be more lucid once the regular season begins next weekend in New York.

“That’s why we do this scrimmage, to be honest,” Dunbar said. “To get the jersey on and get a feel of what a match feels like, get that tightness out so we can actually relax when we play.

“The last thing you want is a team that’s tight.”

Dunbar said there were several areas the team needs to improve, such as her middle blockers’ lack of aggression.

“I think we’ve got to get our middles more involved in the offense,” she said. “They’ve been really good in practice, and I was really disappointed because they are way better than they looked tonight.”