With 11 conference losses trailing behind the team, IU was hungry for its second win against Big Ten newcomer Rutgers. The Hoosiers stepped off the court in New Jersey having swept their opponent, 3-0.
“A Big Ten win is always a great thing,” junior setter Megan Tallman said. “The next step is getting to five wins and this was a step in the right direction.”
The Hoosiers took the first two sets Wednesday, 25-16 and 25-21. The first two sets were cut and dry as the Scarlet Knight defense was unable to keep up with the Hoosiers’ .410 hitting percentage.
But when the teams came out to play the third set it was apparent the Hoosiers weren’t the only players craving a win.
In the midst of the third set Rutgers kept the point margin small and tied it up, 21-21.
A service error committed by Rutgers gave IU some room to score three more points, but when the Hoosiers were unable to put two other balls away, IU Coach Sherry Dunbar-Kruzan called a timeout.
“We sat down and said here’s exactly what’s going to happen,” IU Assistant Coach Paul Koncir said. “We thought we were going to do this play and end the match on that play. It was just trying to bring them into focus and about understanding that focus. There’s a lot of close sets in the Big Ten, so we needed to put them into the idea of what needed to happen.”
The Hoosiers returned from their timeout and immediately senior middle blocker Awele Nwaeze sent the ball over to acquire the last point needed to take the third set and the match win.
“I don’t think one win on any given night is going to be enough for this team,” Tallman said. “We’re striving for our next win. With Michigan State coming up we need to fight for more wins.”
Even with Rutgers’ unsuccessful record, with no conference wins in Big Ten play this season, the IU coaches have been stressing the importance of not having expectations before Wednesday night’s match.
“We’ve been making a big deal not to expect things even when it’s how the game needs to be played,” Koncir said. “We didn’t take them lightly but we took them very seriously, even probably more than we should have. It was something we wanted and knew we had to earn it.”
After a few unsuccessful weeks, Koncir said he wants the Hoosiers to put their focus on winning.
Next up, IU will play host Michigan State at 7 p.m. Saturday.
