Freshman Ashley Benson |
Buckeyes Down Indiana, 3-1
The Indiana University volleyball team dropped a tough one Friday night in Columbus, Ohio versus the Buckeyes of Ohio State, 3-1 (30-26, 30-25, 23-30, 33-31). After falling behind 0-2, the Hoosiers bounced back with a 30-23 game three victory. Then in game four, IU trailed 26-20, but charged back once again by taking six consecutive points. The Hoosiers even had a match point opportunity at 29-28. Ohio State got the "W" in the end, however, winning 33-31.
Freshman Ashley Benson was a force, driving down 17 kills (a career high) on 33 swings and just one error for a .485 hitting efficiency. The Bloomington, Indiana native also recorded five blocks on the night. Senior Juli Pierce excelled defensively for the Hoosiers, racking up 23 digs. Senior Lauren Ditteon notched her team-high ninth double-double of the year, posting 11 kills and 14 digs. Freshman Morgan Miller tallied 17 digs, more than doubling her previous career high.
The score remained tight for the majority of game one, but a four-point run by Ohio State late in the contest proved to be the difference as the Buckeyes seized a 30-26 victory. Benson foreshadowed her impressive performance with four kills on just five swings in the opening act. Game two was very similar to the first. The lead exchanged hands several times throughout before a late OSU-run sealed the deal.
The Cream and Crimson came out of the locker room ready to go in game three, jumping out to a 13-6 lead. Ohio State was able to creep back into the game at 19-17, but Indiana then reignited the offense and grabbed a 30-23 win. Junior Erica Short led the way with seven kills in the third game while Miller and Pierce combined for 17 game-three digs.
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At the 26-20 point in game four, it looked as if Ohio State might pull away. However, the Hoosiers ripped off six straight points to even the score. Moments later, back-to-back kills by Benson pushed Indiana ahead 29-28. Unfortunately, OSU's Danielle Meyer connected on a kill to continue the game. Facing a match point at 30-29, Benson came up with another clutch kill. Meyer responded with a kill of her own to regain the match-point opportunity. A ball handling error by the Buckeyes followed to once again even the score. Meyer kept the hot streak going though, notching another kill at 32-31 before a Kristi Hunter ended the match with a put-away of her own.
Indiana travels to Pennsylvania on Saturday for a 7 p.m. showdown with the #1-ranked team in the country, Penn State.
