Volleyball team reflects on season

It was a season with more downs than ups for the IU volleyball team, but players and coaches said the team improved from last year despite the record (9-22 overall, 1-19 conference).

“It was definitely a building year,” senior captain and libero Caitlin Hansen said. “We learned a lot. We took a step forward. I don’t think our record defines us.”

The Hoosiers started the year 8-1 before falling to Duke and North Carolina, who finished the year ranked No. 14 and No. 15, respectively, to close out non-conference play.

From then on, the team won only one more match. The lone win came against Michigan State — No. 10 at the time — in East Lansing, Mich.

“Our goal was to make the NCAA tournament, and when we started, we were 100 miles away,” IU Assistant Coach Paul Koncir said. “Now we’re five points away.”

The win against the Spartans came between losing streaks of 11 and then 10 to close out the year.

Although the year did not go as planned, the seniors said they still cherished their final season in IU uniforms.

“It was bittersweet,” senior outside hitter Jordan Haverly said. “My body obviously is ready for me to be done with volleyball, but my mind isn’t. It’s sad, but I can look back and I have a ton of awesome memories.

“The senior class that just graduated, we’ve done so much. We’ve been from the highest high to the lowest low for the program. Hopefully how we approached everything helped all the other girls grow and hopefully do better next year.”

Haverly has had five knee surgeries during the course of her IU career, and she became the first player in school history to have 1,500 kills and 1,000 digs, finishing with 1,654 and 1,023, respectively.

This put her third all-time in IU history in kills and ninth all-time in digs. She also finished sixth in school history in service aces with 127.

“I think overall my career here was an amazing one. I had an amazing time,” Haverly said. “Everything that I did I wanted to do for the program. I just wanted to come in and make the program better.

“I wouldn’t really change anything. I don’t even think I would change my injury. Being injured made me learn a lot of lessons that I think helped me become a better person and a better player in certain aspects.”

Haverly was not the only one to etch her name in the record books this year.
Hansen finished her career with 1,248 digs, putting her fifth all-time in IU history in that category.

“It was surreal,” Hansen said. “It still hasn’t hit me yet that I won’t be suiting up to play again. I soaked it all in, and I wanted to make sure that I left my mark and left a legacy, whether it was for hard work or a positive attitude.

“I think I improved every year on a gradual incline. It also definitely changed my personality. When I got here I was shy, but volleyball has taught me to step out of my comfort zone. I’ve grown as a person and a player, and my last year was my best year yet.”

The Hoosiers had six matches go to five sets on the year, falling in each one. This was an improvement on last year when they only reached a fifth set three times.

Koncir said expectations for the team will be high next year.

“(Sophomore) Amelia Anderson has completely taken off,” Koncir said. “Morgan Leach has really shown her stride as a dominant Big Ten player.

“Our young centers got a lot of experience. We started a number of freshman this year, so I think our young players really came a long way.”
    
Follow reporter Andrew Vailliencourt on Twitter @AndrewVcourt.