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The Indiana Daily Student

sports volleyball

IU to play Wisconsin on Saturday

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IU is having its best Big Ten season in four years.

The Hoosiers’ (14-9, 5-6) Big Ten record stands at 5-6 this year. The last three seasons combined, IU went 6-54 in the Big Ten.

The last time the Hoosiers started 5-6 to start off the Big Ten season was 2010, the program’s first and only Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA ?Tournament.

IU is possibly coming off its most dramatic win of the season.

This past Wednesday night, the Hoosiers lost the first set to Minnesota (14-8, 4-7), a team IU hasn’t beaten since 2010.

IU came back to win the next three sets, including a marathon fourth-set victory to beat the Gophers.

The fourth set featured 17 ties and three lead changes. Usually, the winner of a set in volleyball is determined by who gets to 25 points first. And the team has to win by two points.

On Wednesday night, the final score of the fourth set between the Hoosiers and Gophers was 35-33. IU had five set-points it couldn’t convert on before sophomore setter Megan Tallman recorded a service ace.

As Tallman’s serve couldn’t be handled by the Gophers, it secured the win for IU and broke a four-game losing streak IU had against Minnesota.

Tallman and Makayla Lundin combined for 55 assists. Both setters played in each of the four sets.

Having two setters on the floor opens up the hitting lanes for the outside hitters and middle blockers. IU Coach Sherry Dunbar-Kruzan experimented with the strategy against Northwestern this past Saturday, and the Hoosiers also won that match.

Against Minnesota, several of the hitters had efficient performances.

Sophomore outside hitter Taylor Lebo had 11 kills and five hitting errors.

Junior outside hitter Amelia Anderson had 15 kills and also five hitting errors. And senior outside hitter Morgan Leach had 13 kills and six hitting ?errors.

Sophomore outside hitter Allison Hammond also chipped in with eight kills and two hitting errors.

All four of the outside hitters had significantly more kills than hitting errors, something the coaching staff has been working on, Dunbar-Kruzan has said this season.

Having two setters on the floor also opened up the floor for the two middle blockers.

Junior Awele Nwaeze and sophomore Jazzmine McDonald combined for 19 kills and eight hitting errors.

The degree to which the 6-2 scheme will be used going forward is unknown. But Dunbar-Kruzan said it is definitely an option as the Hoosiers continue their Big Ten season.

Saturday, the competition doesn’t get any easier.

Wisconsin (19-2, 10-1) has the best conference record in the Big Ten and is ranked No. 4 in the ?country.

The Badgers lost to then-No. 3 Penn State in the first conference game of the season back on ?Sept. 24.

Since then, the Badgers have won 10 straight games, including wins against No. 10 Illinois, No. 13 Purdue, No. 14 Nebraska and No. 17 Ohio State.

In fact, during the 10-game winning streak, the Badgers have only lost one set during the streak.

So out of 31 sets Wisconsin has played since it lost to Penn State on Sept. 24, the Badgers have won 30 of the sets.

The game will be broadcast on BTN Plus and the radio broadcast will be available on ? iuhoosiers.com.

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