Sept. 11, 2009

Final Stats

ATHENS, Ohio - The Indiana University volleyball team (6-2) began the Hampton Inn Invitational with a 3-1 win over Delaware (4-3) early on Friday. Indiana defeated the Blue Hens 25-21, 25-17, 22-25 and 25-20.

Ashley Benson's star shined bright once again in the morning match. The Bloomington, Ind., native led the team with 18 kills while hitting .424 (18-4-33). She also contributed six blocks to her impressive stat line. Jordan Haverly was not far behind with 17 kills coming via her right arm.

Defensively, Caitlin Cox and Taylor Wittmer were the star pupils for Coach Dunbar. Cox dug 27 balls while Wittmer sent back eight Blue Hen attack attempts, including one solo block.

Mary Chaudoin and Haverly each recorded double-doubles in the Hoosier victory. Chaudoin stuffed the stat sheet with 46 assists, 14 digs and a team-leading eight blocks. Haverly, meanwhile, added 13 digs to her 17-kill performance.

"Some of the things we've been working on in practice got better," said Head Coach Sherry Dunbar. "Our blocking was a little bit better, our defense got better."

"I'm really happy with the win, but we really have to keep getting better and be more aggressive. We need to learn how to dominate a match and be aggressive from start to finish because when the Big Ten season comes you have to."

Indiana found themselves in a several large holes during the opening set, including an eight-point deficit at the 5-13 mark. Undiscouraged, however, the Hoosiers climbed their way out with a huge run mid-way through the set. Indiana took their first lead at 20-19 and cruised from there for a 25-21 triumph. Benson fueled the comeback, responsible for four consecutive points (three kills and a block) late in the frame.

It was the Hoosiers out to an early lead in the second stanza, jumping ahead 15-9 and forcing a Delaware timeout at 20-15. The break in attention did no favors for the Blue Hens though as Indiana continued to overpower UD in grabbing the next points. The Hoosiers missed out on the following two points before a Wittmer kill concluded the set, 25-17.

Set number three was an up-and-down rollercoaster ride for Indiana. After dropping the first four points of the set, IU recovered and regained the lead quickly. The Hoosiers maintained the advantage until the 19-20 mark, where their decline back down began. In the end, Delaware arose victorious in the third frame, 25-22.

The fourth set was much different as Indiana controlled it throughout en route to a 25-20 match-clinching win.