'Here's Something from Mary' Episode Four
Sophomore setter Mary Chaudoin gives Hoosier fans another glimpse into the happenings of IU volleyball with the fourth installment in her 2009 weekly video blog, "Here's Something from Mary".
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Sophomore setter Mary Chaudoin gives Hoosier fans another glimpse into the happenings of IU volleyball with the fourth installment in her 2009 weekly video blog, "Here's Something from Mary".
Two members of the IU volleyball team earned weekly Big Ten awards for their performances in last weekend's Hampton Inn Invitational at Ohio University.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With the Big Ten schedule ahead, the IU volleyball team was looking to make a statement.The Hoosiers (9-2) did just that by winning all four of their matches and claiming the championship at the Hampton Inn Invitational at Ohio University.“(Our blocking) was much better,” IU coach Sherry Dunbar said. “We really controlled our defense a lot with our blocking.”IU opened the tournament Friday with a four-set victory against Delaware, winning 25-21, 25-17, 22-25, 25-20.The win against the Blue Hens saw double doubles from sophomore setter Mary Chaudoin and freshman outside hitter Jordan Haverly.IU rallied from an early deficit to win the first set. The Hoosiers dropped the third, then led the way in the fourth to seal the tournament-opening victory.The Hoosiers played their second match Friday evening against defending Mid-American Conference champion Ohio, defeating the Bobcats in five sets by scores of 25-17, 22-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-12.After splitting the first four sets, IU and Ohio exchanged runs in the fifth before Haverly and junior middle blocker Ashley Benson rejected a hit to lead 13-11 and forced the final Ohio timeout, setting up the victory for IU.“It was definitely a statement win,” Benson said. “Before we played them, they’re like, ‘Oh, it’s Indiana, an easy Big Ten team,’ but we showed them we mean business.”IU continued its winning streak Saturday, blanking Eastern Kentucky 25-22, 25-21, 25-22 in its morning match.Though each of the three sets in the match was close, the Hoosiers got the necessary defensive contributions to seal the win.IU completed its sweep of the invitational Saturday afternoon against Missouri State, winning a thriller in five sets by scores of 25-21, 20-25, 26-28, 27-25 , 17-15.Haverly recorded a career-high 28 kills in a match that needed extra points in each of its final three sets.“It felt really great,” Haverly said. “There is so much energy on our court.”After falling 1-2 after the match’s initial three contests, the Hoosiers had to muster comebacks in each of the final two sets. They faced a 8-14 deficit in the fourth and a 7-11 hole in the fifth, but they rallied in each with big runs to seal the win.Caitlin Cox was named the tournament’s most valuable player with 88 total digs on the weekend.“I had talked with Coach Dunbar, and she told me I wasn’t in the top 10 in the Big Ten (in digs),” Cox said. “That was some extra motivation for me to have a big weekend.”
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With the Big Ten schedule ahead, the IU volleyball team was looking to make a statement.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With the Big Ten schedule ahead, the IU volleyball team was looking to make a statement.The Hoosiers (9-2) did just that by winning all four of their matches and claiming the championship at the Hampton Inn Invitational at Ohio University.“(Our blocking) was much better,” IU coach Sherry Dunbar said. “We really controlled our defense a lot with our blocking.”IU opened the tournament Friday with a four-set victory over Delaware, winning 25-21, 25-17, 22-25, 25-20.The win against the Blue Hens saw double-doubles from sophomore setter Mary Chaudoin and freshman outside hitter Jordan Haverly.IU rallied from an early deficit to win the first set. The Hoosiers dropped the third then led the way in the fourth to seal the tournament-opening victory.The Hoosiers played their second match Friday evening against defending Mid-American Conference champion Ohio, defeating the Bobcats in five sets by scores of 25-17, 22-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-12.After splitting the first four sets, IU and Ohio exchanged runs in the fifth before Haverly and junior middle blocker Ashley Benson rejected a hit to lead 13-11 and forced the final Ohio time out, setting up the victory for IU.“It was definitely a statement win,” Benson said. “Before we played them, they’re like, ‘Oh, it’s Indiana, an easy Big Ten team,’ but we showed them we mean business.”IU continued its win streak Saturday, blanking Eastern Kentucky 25-22, 25-21, 25-22 in its morning match.Though each of the three sets in the match was close, the Hoosiers got the necessary defensive contributions to seal the win.IU completed its sweep of the invitational Saturday afternoon against Missouri State, winning a thriller in five sets by scores of 25-21, 20-25, 26-28, 27-25 , 17-15.Haverly recorded a new career-high 28 kills in a match that needed extra points in each of its final three sets.“It felt really great,” Haverly said. “There is so much energy on our court.”After falling 1-2 after the match’s initial three contests, the Hoosiers had to muster comebacks in each of the final two sets. They faced a 8-14 deficit in the fourth and a 7-11 hole in the fifth, but rallied in each with big runs to seal the win.Caitlin Cox was named the tournament’s most valuable player with 88 total digs on the weekend.“I had talked with coach Dunbar and she told me I wasn’t in the top-10 in the Big Ten (in digs),” Cox said. “That was some extra motivation for me to have a big weekend.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU volleyball team continued its run in the Hampton Inn Invitational with a win against Ohio in five sets Friday. The Hoosiers (7-2) beat the host and defending Mid-American Conference champion Bobcats (6-2) by scores of 25-17, 22-25, 25-20, 23-25 and 15-12. The team received significant contribution from freshmen, with outside hitter Jordan Haverly registering 16 kills, seven of which came in the third set. Fellow freshman hitter Kelci Marschall put away five kills on the day. Three Hoosiers recorded double-digit digs, with sophomore libero Caitlin Cox leading the team at 17. Senior outside hitter Kelsey Hall and freshman defensive specialist Laura Matula each had 11. IU will play two more matches Saturday, the first at 10 a.m. against Eastern Kentucky and the second at 5 p.m. against Missouri State.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU volleyball team is just about two weeks away from opening Big Ten play, but IU coach Sherry Dunbar insisted the conference schedule isn’t the team’s current focus.“We’re really one day at a time,” Dunbar said.The Hoosiers (5-2) will travel to Athens, Ohio for the Hampton Inn Invitational at Ohio University this weekend. “We’re really all about practice right now because we have so many things ... to improve on,” Dunbar said. IU will play four matches in the tournament. Its first two contests will take place at 10 a.m. Friday against Delaware and 7 p.m. against host Ohio.The Hoosiers will play their final two matches Saturday at 10 a.m. against Eastern Kentucky and 5 p.m. against Missouri State.Ohio has received consideration in the coaches’ poll, and Dunbar said she expects the Bobcats (5-1) and Missouri State to be especially tough opponents.“Ohio is going to be a huge challenge,” Dunbar said. “Missouri State’s got a great program. We lost to them last year.”But two teams won’t deter IU from its one-day-at-a-time approach, Dunbar said.“I think everybody’s a challenge for us right now,” Dunbar said. “We’re a young team, and we will play really inconsistent. We need to work on our consistency, so having four matches this weekend will be great for us because we need more game experience.”Junior middle blocker and right-side hitter Taylor Wittmer, who registered 29 total kills and 25 total blocks in last weekend’s IU adidas Classic, agreed that the team isn’t getting ahead of itself.“Obviously, we’re thinking about Big Ten all the time because that’s our conference and we want to beat all the teams there, but as far as right now, we’re one match at a time because these matches right now will end up counting for the NCAA (tournament),” Wittmer said.
Get to know the seven freshmen that help make up IU’s top-25 recruiting class for 2009.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Despite a disappointing loss to open the IU adidas Classic on Friday, IU volleyball coach Sherry Dunbar said her team was competitive and that there was a lot of room to grow.“We just played more like a team (Saturday),” Dunbar said. “Our energy was a lot higher.”The Hoosiers (5-2) lost two matches on Friday and won two on Saturday to split their slate in the hometown tournament.IU dropped its first contest against the University of Tennessee-Martin by 25-14, 25-23, 19-25, 23-25 and 12-15.The Hoosiers posted a collective .297 attack percentage in their first match, with graduate student and right-side hitter Whitney Thomas and freshman outside hitter Jordan Haverly leading the team with 14 and 13 kills, respectively.The team saw most of its contributions from younger players. Junior middle blocker Ashley Benson did not see action until late in the fourth set as the Skyhawks were staging a comeback.However, that was not why IU lost, Dunbar said.“We just didn’t learn as the match went along, and UT-Martin did,” she said. “We never really learned how to play the game against this kind of team.”IU played its second match Friday night against No. 18 Kentucky, taking a set from the Wildcats before ultimately falling short of an upset in four games – 23-25, 25-19, 19-25 and 18-25.Dunbar said that despite another loss, she appreciated the effort from her team against a strong opponent.“I thought we were competitive,” Dunbar said of IU’s contest with Kentucky. “It was a competitive match. If you’re a fan, it was a fun match to watch, with a lot of hard hitting, a lot of great defense. We’re going to learn a lot from that match blocking-wise, defensively, and passing-wise.”Senior outside hitter Kelsey Hall, who led the team in kills against Kentucky with 17 and also recorded 15 digs, agreed with her coach.“I think it was really good, especially after what happened this morning,” Hall said. “I think we were in a bit of a funk, and to play like this tonight, I think it was good for our confidence.”Hall also credited the support from the IU fans during that match and said the team was really excited to see such a turnout.“It was overwhelming,” she said. “We haven’t had that in a long time. We’ll get a few fans here and there, but this was amazing.”IU was able to close the tournament with a pair of wins Saturday, the first against Murray State in four sets.The Hoosiers dropped the match’s initial set 22-25 before rebounding to win the next three 25-22, 25-12 and 25-14, posting a team attack percentage of .269.IU’s final contest in the Classic was a sweep of the University of Illinois-Chicago on Saturday night by 25-19, 25-20 and 25-13, respectively.Sophomore libero Caitlin Cox, who recorded three service aces in each of the Hoosiers’ Saturday matches, said Saturday was a great rebound from Friday.“I think it was nice to bounce back and get some confidence back,” Cox said. “I’ve been struggling a lot lately with my serving, and it was really nice to get on a run and get some aces in there.”As IU prepares for its next invitational at Ohio this weekend, Dunbar said she knows where her team needs to grow.“I think it’s on us,” she said. “We really have to follow game plans, we have to be able to adjust to the game plan and know which teams are going to make adjustments as they go along.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Caitlin Cox is not short.That’s what sophomore libero and teammate, sophomore setter Mary Chaudoin, insists.“I’m not short – I’m fun-sized,” Cox said. “That’s kind of our theme.”At 5 feet, 2 inches tall, Cox is the shortest player on the IU volleyball team, but that doesn’t describe the size of her game and her importance to the Hoosiers.“We are a better team with her,” IU volleyball coach Sherry Dunbar said. “She is our fire. She’s so competitive, and when she plays well, usually the whole team plays well.”Cox said while she understands that being shorter than most players at the collegiate level requires more individual effort, it’s no obstacle or barrier at her position.“I’m not sure if it’s a disadvantage or an advantage,” she said. “A lot of people joke around about it. But I think that being shorter, I have to work harder. Any back-row player has to work hard. I think I could be the same as a 6-foot specialist.”Cox also doesn’t let her size dictate her play, diving to save points and taking hard hits on the court, including a blow to the head while chasing a ball heading out of bounds in the Hoosiers’ first match of the IU adidas Classic on Friday.“I’ve never really hesitated,” Cox said. “I think I’ve just got that in my mind: watch the ball, wherever it is, and make the play.”Cox had that mentality before coming to IU when she led New Castle Chrysler High School to its first-ever state volleyball championship as a senior in 2007, also earning Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year honors.Dunbar said that the Springport, Ind. native was described a bit differently than “fun-sized” when she was recruiting Cox to IU.“They called her ‘Ice,’” Dunbar said, “because when she’s on the floor, she wants to win. She bangs her head, and she’s so mad because she wants to be in every point of the match. You want that player on your team.”Cox’s prep success translated to college immediately as she was selected to the Big Ten All-Freshman team last year after setting an IU freshman record for digs in a single season with 402.Cox said her impact and accomplishments so early in her career drove her to be even better this season, and that she and volunteer coach Peter Chang have discussed specifically how she would go about it.“I have pretty high goals,” she said. “Coach Chang and I have set specific goals for me, and those are kind of between us. If I reach them, that would be great. And I am going to reach them.”When asked if her teammates tease her about her height, Cox smiled.“Yes, I get it a lot,” she said. “But I’ve played this sport with 6-foot players for a while, and I’m used to it.”Chaudoin, a 6-foot, 3-inch setter who arrived at IU with Cox last year, was the first to describe her as “fun-sized.”“Caitlin and I came in last year together, and we’ve kind of always been on campus together and people would see us and be like ‘Wow, she’s really short,’ and ‘Wow, she’s really tall,’” Chaudoin said. “And I would always say, ‘She’s not short, she’s fun-sized!’”Chaudoin said she expects Cox to return the favor by coming up with a nickname for her.“I’m still waiting for that,” she said.
Sophomore libero Caitlin Cox makes a pass off of a serve in Saturday's noon game against Murray State. IU won the match in four sets.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After losing both of its Friday matches in the adidas Classic, the IU volleyball team started Saturday’s slate with a win over Murray State in four sets. The Hoosiers (4-2) dropped the first set 22-25 before claiming the next three 25-22, 25-12 and 25-14 to score their third victory of the young 2009 season. IU ended its noon contest with a .269 attack percentage. Freshman outside hitter Jordan Haverly and junior middle blocker Ashley Benson led the team with 16 and 15 kills, respectively. Sophomore libero Caitlin Cox and freshman defensive specialist Laura Matula each recorded three service aces. Becca Lamb led the way for the Racers (0-6) with 9 kills. The Hoosiers will play their final match of the tournament at 7 p.m. against the University of Illinois-Chicago.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After a disappointing loss at the hands of the University of Tennessee-Martin earlier in the day, the IU volleyball team gave No. 18 Kentucky a battle in its second match of the IU Adidas Classic.In the end, however, it wasn’t enough as the Hoosiers (3-2) fell to the Wildcats (5-0) in four sets.IU lost by scores of 23-25, 25-19, 19-25 and 18-25.The team posted a collective attack percentage of .292 with 61 kills to 23 errors.Senior outside hitter Kelsey Hall and junior middle blocker Ashley Benson led the way for the Hoosiers, recording 17 and 16 kills, respectively. Hall also led the team in digs with 15.Hall said that it felt good to perform well against such a strong opponent, especially after the loss to UT-Martin.“I think we were in a funk (earlier Friday),” Hall said. “I think it’s good for our confidence, our ego, and we can build that and add to something important.”Hall also said the strong support the team had in University Gym for the game lifted their energy and performance.“I think the fans’ energy in here was so overwhelming,” she said. “We haven’t had that in a long time. We’ll get a few fans here and there, but this was amazing.”The Hoosiers have two matches on Saturday to wrap the tournament, the first at noon against Murray State and the second at 7 p.m. against the University of Illinois-Chicago.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU volleyball team dropped its first match of the weekend’s adidas Classic, falling to Tennessee-Martin in five sets.The Hoosiers (3-1) claimed the first two sets before the Skyhawks (4-1) took the final three. IU lost by scores of 25-14, 25-23, 19-25, 23-25 and 12-15.IU played with mostly younger players as senior outside hitter Kelsey Hall did not play and junior middle blocker Ashley Benson was held from action until late in the fourth set.However, that wasn’t why the Hoosiers lost, coach Sherry Dunbar said.“We didn’t learn as the match went along, and UT-Martin did,” Dunbar said. “We never figured out the game, like how to play the game against them.”The team posted a .297 attack percentage with 62 kills but 19 errors. Hitters Whitney Thomas and Jordan Haverly led the team in individual kills with 14 and 13, respectively.The Skyhawks posted a collective percentage of .226. Britany Wilburn led the way with 15 kills.IU plays its second match of the tournament at 7 p.m. against no. 18 Kentucky.Dunbar hopes for a much better performance against the Wildcats.“I hope we come back tonight and play much better Indiana volleyball for our fans and protect our home court,” Dunbar said.
Freshman outside hitter Jordan Haverly executes a back-row attack during IU's noon matchup against University of Tennessee-Martin. IU lost the match, which went into a fitfth set.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The seven freshmen on the IU volleyball team got their first collegiate match experience in Houston last weekend.However, they have yet to play a match at home with the added excitement of familiar surroundings and an overwhelmingly cream-and-crimson fan base.That, coach Sherry Dunbar said, might reproduce some of those emotions when the Hoosiers (3-0) take the University Gym court against University of Tennessee-Martin at noon Friday as hosts of the IU adidas Classic.“I think they’re excited to play at home,” Dunbar said of her new players, who were part of a top-25 recruiting class nationally. “There are probably going to be a few jitters before, so I’m glad we’re playing that 12 o’clock match.”IU will play four matches in the tournament, with the first two on Friday and the final two on Saturday.Dunbar said she expects the Hoosiers’ four opponents to present “a lot of different styles, a lot of different levels, which is exactly what we wanted. It should be diverse competition for us.“We have a young team with seven newcomers, and we’re hoping to get our newcomers a lot of playing time.”IU’s second Friday match will begin at 7 p.m. The Hoosiers will face the No. 18-ranked Kentucky Wildcats (3-0).Dunbar said the contest with Kentucky will help her evaluate the progress of the team and prepare it for its slate in the Big Ten, which includes six top-25 teams.“We’re ... playing one of the best teams in the country in Kentucky,” Dunbar said. “It will give us a good feel of playing in the Big Ten and also give our newcomers a feel of playing in the Big Ten, so I’m really excited to play them. I think it’s time we challenge ourselves and kind of see where we’re at and what we can work on.”IU received significant contributions from those newcomers in its first three matches during the Flo Hyman Invitational at the University of Houston last weekend.Freshman outside hitter Jordan Haverly led the team in service aces throughout the tournament with seven.Haverly’s 32 kills over the Hoosiers’ three matches were second on the team only to the 43 of All-Big Ten middle blocker Ashley Benson.“It was really good,” Haverly said of her debut. “Hopefully we can continue working hard and having fun together.”Freshman setter Whitney Granado recorded an ace on her first collegiate attempt, also the first attempt of the season for IU.“I was just trying to put it on point,” Granado said of the initial service attempt in the Hoosiers’ first match. She said she was shocked when it hit the court uncontested.IU’s other freshmen contributed, as well.Outside hitter Ivie Obeime and right-side hitter Kelci Marschall both recorded multiple kills in two matches, and middle blocker Samantha Thrower had at least one in each match.Freshman defensive specialist Laura Matula also contributed, registering 14 digs on the weekend.The Hoosier’s Saturday slate includes a match at noon against Murray State and a 7 p.m. contest against University of Illinois-Chicago.“We certainly want to see more consistency with people running our offense and playing faster,” Dunbar said.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU volleyball coach Sherry Dunbar and junior middle blocker Ashley Benson both said they would like to start the season 3-0 heading into the Flo Hyman Invitational in Houston.The Hoosiers did just that, winning all three of their matches in the University of Houston-hosted tournament and being crowned champions of the event.Dunbar said the results of the tournament were very positive for her players.“It’s great to show them that their hard work in the offseason has paid off,” Dunbar said. “Now we have a lot of stuff to look at to see how we play against someone other than ourselves.”IU dropped just one set throughout the tournament.The Hoosiers opened the tournament Friday, blanking Southeastern Louisiana 25-13, 25-18, 25-17. The team posted a collective hit percentage of .386, with Benson leading in kills with 11.“Everyone was excited,” Benson said. “Even when we were low, we all hung together.”Freshman outside hitter Jordan Haverly, who joined the team after attending junior college for a year, recorded four aces in her IU debut, including on her first career serve attempt.Haverly enjoyed her first match experience at IU.“It felt really good,” Haverly said. “Hopefully we can continue to work hard and keep having fun together.”Fellow freshman, setter Whitney Granado, accomplished that same feat, doing so on the match’s initial serve.Graduate student Whitney Thomas also shined in her volleyball debut, scoring six kills. Thomas joined the volleyball team this season after spending four seasons on the IU women’s basketball team.The Hoosiers carried the momentum from their season-opening victory into Saturday’s matches, downing New Orleans 20-25, 29-27, 25-20, 25-20 in a noon matchup.Benson recorded 20 kills, again a team high, and also recorded six of the teams blocks, with three solo stuffs.Sophomore libero Caitlin Cox, Haverly and freshman Laura Matula each recorded two service aces, and senior outside hitter Kelsey Hall added another for a team total of seven.IU finished its tournament sweep Saturday evening, defeating host Houston 25-19, 25-21, 25-17.Benson and Haverly led the Hoosiers in kills on Houston, recording 12 and 11, respectively, and, along with Granado, each recorded one ace. The team’s collective attack percentage was .265.Sophomore setter Mary Chaudoin led the Hoosiers with 22 assists and Granado added 13.IU now shifts its focus to next weekend, when it will play host at the IU adidas Classic. The Hoosiers will play their first match of the tournament Friday at noon against University of Tennessee-Martin at University Gymnasium and will play again at 7 p.m. against Kentucky.The team will play two matches Saturday, the first at noon against Murray State and the second at 7 p.m. against University of Illinois-Chicago.“It will be really exciting to have the opportunity to play at home,” Dunbar said. “They will bring an energy to the gym and I’m sure the fans are going to be really excited. It’s looking to be a great collegiate weekend at IU.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Hoosiers won their season-opening match Friday, beating Southeastern Louisiana 25-13, 25-18, 25-17 in their first of three matches in this weekend’s Flo Hyman Invitational in Houston, Texas.IU totaled 42 kills to 10 errors in their straight-set victory, amassing a .386 hit percentage. Southeastern Louisiana only managed 25 kills and recorded 15 errors for a .114 hit percentage.Senior middle blocker Ashley Benson led IU with 11 kills. Freshman outside hitter Jordan Haverly shined from the service line in her IU debut, leading the Hoosiers with four aces.Two of Haverly’s aces came in the first set, with fifth-year senior and former women’s basketball player Whitney Thomas adding four kills in the match’s initial contest.The second set stayed close early with the score at 15-15, but two kills each from Haverly and Thomas, along with a Southeastern Louisiana attack error, allowed the Hoosiers to pull away.Haverly added another ace and five more kills in the third set, and sophomore setter Mary Chaudoin added eight assists.The Hoosiers’ next match will take place Saturday at 12:30 p.m. against New Orleans, and they will play again at 8:30 p.m. against host Houston.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU volleyball coach Sherry Dunbar sees something different about her team from past years heading into the 2009 season.For Dunbar, that difference is a good thing, as the Hoosiers (17-15, 9-11) head to Houston to open their campaign Friday in the Flo Hyman Tournament.“We have a totally different team this year,” Dunbar said. “We’ve changed more than half our roster. I think we have really stepped up talent-wise.” Despite undergoing drastic overhaul from last year, Dunbar expects to have a strong squad that will contend for a NCAA tournament berth, which would be its first since 2002. The Hoosiers’ first match of the season takes place at 6:30 p.m. Friday against Southeastern Louisiana.Dunbar expects this weekend’s tournament to be a springboard for her team in terms of starting the season on a good note and getting ready for its tough conference slate.“We’ve been playing against each other in practice, and first of all we’re really excited to play someone else,” Dunbar said. “It’s very different in match situations.”Among the things Dunbar hopes to see this weekend and the rest of the season is the continued success and leadership of junior middle blocker Ashley Benson. Benson set IU records as a sophomore with 167 blocks and 151 block assists. “She’s stronger than last year and she’s more independent,” Dunbar said. “She won’t need to be coached as much. She can be All-Big Ten again, she has All-American potential, and she has the potential to be the best to have ever played at IU.” Along with Benson and the other returning members are eight newcomers. They include seven members of a top-25 recruiting class and former women’s basketball player Whitney Thomas. Benson said she anticipates seeing what she and her teammates can do in their first match Friday. “We’re really excited,” she said. “This preseason we’ve started doing things a bit earlier than last year.”