Sept. 12, 2009

Final Stats

ATHENS, Ohio - In one of the most exciting IU Volleyball matches of the Head Coach Sherry Dunbar era, her Hoosiers showed impeccable resilience in a five-set win over Missouri State to capture the Hampton Inn Invitational and a 4-0 weekend. Indiana faced three match points, fending off each of them en route to a 25-21, 20-25, 26-28, 27-25, 17-15 victory.

"There were a lot of times tonight and against Ohio that we could have given up, and we just didn't," said Coach Dunbar. "We kept fighting and that's a really big step in our program to defeat a pair of really good programs like that."

Indiana ended the match on a 10-4 run after digging out of an 11-7 disadvantage for the 17-15 final tally in the clinching set. The final three sets could not be determined in regulation as all three extended past the 25-point mark. Indiana improves to 9-2 on the season.

Jordan Haverly demolished her previous career high of 17 kills by putting away 28 terminations on the night. Ashley Benson also notched double-digit kills, picking up 15 in the contest. Freshman Samantha Thrower provided a huge boost for IU in the final two frames, recording four kills and four blocks while hitting .500 (4-0-8).

Defensively, it was libero Caitlin Cox doing the dirty work. The Springport, Ind., native capped off her Hampton Inn Invitational MVP-earning weekend by hovering the Hoosier backcourt and digging 24 balls against Missouri State.

Setter Mary Chaudoin nearly pulled off the very rare volleyball triple-double. Chaudoin added nine kills and nine digs to go along with her 61 assists in the Hoosiers' winning effort. Senior Kelsey Hall did her part as well, digging 14 balls and ending the match with her sixth kill, resulting in point number 17 for the Cream and Crimson in set number five.

"A lot of people stepped up. Caitlin Cox had a great weekend. She was a leader and she made big plays when we needed big plays to be made. Ashley Benson played well, Mary Chaudoin had a good tournament. Sam Thrower came in and gave us some really good minutes. Taylor blocked really well all weekend. It was really a total team effort."

As mentioned earlier, the final three sets were an absolute slugfest inside the Convocation Center of Ohio University. Each team continued to throw haymaker after haymaker while simultaneously withstanding the opposition's best punch. There were a combined 12 lead changes and 27 tie scores during those final three frames.

Set number three contained the most tie scores at 14, including late stalemates of 21-21, 24-24, 25-25 and 26-26. Unfortunately, the score was not tied at 28-26, ending in favor of the Bears.

Indiana's first of two incredible comebacks came in set number four. Trailing by six points at 14-8, Benson returned from the locker room after suffering an injury a few points earlier. Upon her return Benson blew up for four consecutive points with three kills and a block, cutting IU deficit to just two points at 14-12. The Hoosiers eventually turned the 14-8 disadvantage into a 21-16 advantage by nabbing 13 points in a 15-point stretch. Missouri State had a response of their own, however, storming back to not simply tie the score, but even earn a match point at 25-24. Indiana then counterpunched and snagged the next three points to force a fifth set.

Playing their 17th set in a 48-hour span, Indiana not only had to fight physical and mental fatigue in the fifth set, but also needed to dig themselves out of an 11-7 hole. The Cream and Crimson did just that, concluding the exhilarating victory with a 10-4 run for the 17-15 final tally.

The Hoosiers host the T.I.S. Bookstore Invitational next weekend inside University Gym. Indiana is slated to play 2008 Sweet 16 participant Western Michigan, as well as, Alabama A&M and North Carolina A&T.