IU volleyball traveled to East Lansing, Michigan, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, to go up against their first Big Ten opponents in regular conference: Michigan State and No. 22 University of Michigan.
While in Michigan, IU first suffered a 3-0 loss at Michigan State Friday, breaking the seven-game winning streak they had built up during preseason. The winning streak was the longest for the Hoosiers since the 2010 season.
The Hoosiers and Spartans went back and forth throughout each of the three matches, but the Hoosiers eventually fell with losses in each match: 25-21, 25-20, 25-20.
IU Coach Sherry Dunbar-Kruzan said she thought this weekend helped to expose some weaknesses for IU, and said she plans to work on those going forward in the Big Ten season.
“We know in the end it comes down to your style, reducing errors and having the confidence to play that style,” Dunbar-Kruzan said.
The Hoosiers traveled to Ann Arbor on Saturday to play against the No. 22 Wolverines.
IU lost the first set against Michigan 25-16 but came back into the game leading the second set 15-8. Senior outside hitter Amelia Anderson had eight kills to keep Michigan on its toes.
IU kept that momentum going as junior setter Makayla Lundin hit two service aces with 13 assists. This allowed IU to make 17 kills in the second set, eventually cinching the win over Michigan 25-23.
The Hoosiers dropped that momentum in sets three and four by making 14 errors, allowing the Wolverines to take the last two set wins of the match and leaving the final match score at 3-1.
“Michigan State was playing very good volleyball in front of big crowds,” Dunbar-Kruzan said. “Michigan played very solid volleyball, and that’s to be expected. We gave them so many points on just errors.”
Dunbar-Kruzan said she wants to work on the team’s offensive play as well as setting during practices this week.
Junior setter Megan Tallman said their biggest challenge this weekend was the atmosphere of playing two Big Ten opponents in the opening of the season.
“Obviously it didn’t go the way we wanted to go, but we learn something from every single match,” Tallman said. “We know what we need to work on, and we’re talking about next weekend already. We all want to work and get better to find that drive and win Big Ten matches.”
Tallman said she is excited to be playing IU’s next two opponents at home and is hoping the support of fans and the familiarity of the home gym will give the Hoosiers the focus they need to win.
“That confidence needs to be there for the best conference in the country,” Dunbar-Kruzan said. “That’s the great thing about playing sports in general is you might lose a game or two, but you get right back on the horse undefeated by failure. We didn’t play our best volleyball, but we’ll continue to grow, and I think they’ll put in the work to do it.”
