Senior Lauren Ditteon |
Hoosiers Win, Pierce Records 1,000th Career Dig
Oct. 13, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - In their fourth weekend of Big Ten action, the Indiana University volleyball team did just as they had the previous three conference weekends: split the weekend, one win and one loss. With a 3-1 victory over Northwestern Saturday night, the Hoosiers improved to 13-7 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten.
"We talked a lot about pride, the fight and being more disciplined [after Friday's loss to Michigan State,]" said Head Coach Sherry Dunbar. "Those are the main things we tried to improve on tonight."
Senior Juli Pierce had her second large dig total of the weekend, racking up 25 digs on the night. Her 18th dig of the match was the 1,000th of her career. Pierce becomes just the eighth player in school history to accomplish that feat. Also of note, IU's record improved to 7-0 when Senior Lauren Ditteon records a double-double as she did against the Wildcats with 11 kills and 11 digs.
Indiana's offense came out blazing, hitting .306 in game one. Junior Erica Short led the way with five game-one terminations. The Hoosiers took a 9-8 advantage and never relinquished that lead the rest of the way in the 30-26 win.
Although the offensive production took a dip in game two, the defensive intensity picked up the slack. Northwestern was held to a .135 hitting efficiency in another 30-26 decision in favor of the Hoosiers. Pierce picked up 10 of her digs in game two alone.
The Wildcats regrouped in the locker room, however, and showcased their offensive force by hitting .326 in their game three win, 30-22.
The momentum continued for Northwestern in game four as they jumped out to a 13-8 lead, forcing an Indiana timeout. Whatever adjustments Coach Dunbar and the Hoosiers made during the break in action proved to be the key as the Cream and Crimson snatched the next seven points for the 15-13 edge.
"We were down 13 to eight and then bounced back to make it 13-13," said Dunbar. "I thought the girls started to falter a little bit, but they stuck together, fought really hard and got themselves back into the game. That really changed the match, they pulled it out."
The see-saw battle in game four was evidenced by five lead changes and the score was tied on 15 different occasions. But in the end, it was the Hoosiers who came out on top, defeating Northwestern 30-27 in the game-four clincher.
"We fought and were very competitive," said Dunbar. "When we had to get points, we got points."
Next up for the Hoosiers is arch-rival Purdue on Wednesday night at University Gym. The match will be broadcast LIVE on the Big Ten Network and is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
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