Indiana University moves on to volleyball Sweet 16; Louisville knocked out
The Indiana University volleyball team, also known as the Hoosiers, emerged victorious (3-2) in a match against 11th-seeded University of Tennessee, and advanced to the NCAA volleyball Sweet 16 for the first time ever.
The match played for five sets, with the scoreboard showing 18-25, 25-21, 20-25, 27-25, 15-13.
“I love this team, how they just refuse to quit,” said IU coach Sherry Dunbar of her team. “We played a great Tennessee team today, and I thought we really persevered as we were the aggressor in the end. We found a way to make
plays when we needed them the most.”
The final game saw the Tennessee team, known as the Lady Vols, take the lead at 10-8. They were overtaken permanently, however, by IU scoring four straight points. The game ended with an out-of-bounds Tennessee serve by setter
Kylann Scheidt, which brought a rush of IU coaches and players onto the court.
Indiana’s wins capped a 13-2 record back home at the university gym. Senior middle blocker Taylor Wittmer said that the team felt confident playing on home ground.
Sophomore Jordan Haverly of the Hoosiers stood out by making a career-high 30 kills and 14 digs. She accompanied these with five blocks and a hitting efficiency of .333.
“The whole weekend she played a very complete game,” said Dunbar about Haverly. “She just refuses to lose, and that’s why I’m thrilled that she’s at Indiana.” Dunbar added that Caitlin Cox made some unbelievable digs and appreciated
the experience that the freshmen were getting from the tournament.
Ashley Benson and Wittmer had 11 block assists combined, while Mary Chaudoin had 41 assists.
The Hoosiers will now play 6th-seeded University of Southern California next weekend in Dayton, Ohio. The victor will go on to compete in the Elite Eight.
Meanwhile, in another NCAA match on Saturday, Purdue University beat the University of Louisville 3-1 in Holloway Gymnasium.
“We got beat by a better team tonight; that is all there is to it,” said Louisville coach Leonid Yelin. “But overall I cannot complain. Purdue did what they had to do, and my young team will take away a great lesson from this.
I would like to do research on how many teams starting three freshmen advanced this far.”
The Louisville Cardinals’ Gwen Rucker made a career-high 13 kills and four blocks, while Caitlin Welch contributed a match-high 15 digs and a career-best four aces. The Purdue Boilermakers’ Tiffany Fisher, meanwhile, had 12 kills.
Rucker admitted that Fisher had given Louisville a tough time.
“With everything on the line and so emotional, we tried too hard,” Yelin said. “We pressed. I would remind them at timeouts that they were ahead and to relax.
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