Volleyball loses for first time

The women's volleyball team ended its nonconference play this weekend with a record of 9-1.\nAfter a loss Friday night to No. 20 Loyola-Marymount (7-1), the Hoosiers were able to pull it together, break a school record and sweep Marquette (15-7, 15-5, 15-8) and Duke (15-8, 16-14, 17-15).\nThe Hoosiers suffered bouts of miscommunication, missed plays and botched opportunities in its loss to Loyola (15-9, 15-6, 15-10). \n"I thought our defense played great," coach Katie Weismiller said. "Our transition game is where we struggled. We weren't able to terminate from our side. We also struggled from the service line."\nIU fell early in the Loyola match and was down 7-1 in the first game. The Hoosiers managed to pull within four before the Lions took advantage of a missed hit and won the game. The second and third matches left IU in a big deficit, from which they were unable to pull themselves. \nBig plays by Loyola senior Sarah McFarland, who won tournament MVP honors, gave the Lions the edge. McFarland ended the match with 17 kills and 24 attacks.\nBoth teams ended with 52 kills, but the Hoosiers .118 attack percentage hurt them in the end. Not even 15 kills from senior outside hitter Amanda Welter and 12 kills from sophomore outside hitter Hillary Toivonen could help the Hoosiers.\n"We were getting a lot of opportunities," Welter said. "But we weren't trying to put the ball away, we were trying to play it safe. I'm frustrated. The first loss isn't easy."\nThe Hoosiers managed to turn their game around in the second match against Marquette (1-9). The Hoosiers were able to pull out to an early lead and hang on for the win.\nThey had a close call with the Golden Eagles in the second game of the match. After jumping to a 4-0 lead, Marquette managed to catch up and tie it at 5-5. But that was the last point the Golden Eagles would score in that game. In the third game, Marquette led most of the time until IU was able to tie it at 8-8 and then hold on for the win.\nFreshman outside hitter Nicole Hill, who was named to the All-Tournament team for the first time in her career, had an impressive showing. She led the team with 15 kills and had the most total attacks with 30. Welter and Toivonen also contributed with 14 and 13 kills respectively.\nIU ended the Marquette match with a .523 hitting percentage, setting a new school record. The old school record for hitting percentage had stood since 1991 when the Hoosiers totaled .489 against Michigan State.\n"Offensively we were on," Weismiller said. "We were passing well, and they couldn't stop our offense. Our hitting percentage shows that. On the other side of the coin, our blocking and defense wasn't what we wanted it be. We felt we could have played better in that match. It was a learning experience."\nThe final match of the tournament pitted IU against the Duke Blue Devils. Duke went into the match 2-0 after beating Loyola-Marymount.\nIn each game the Hoosiers were in trouble. In the second and third games, IU was down 11-14, with Duke almost winning both times. \nWelter's clutch plays helped the Hoosiers land both victories. She had a kill in the second game, giving IU a side-out. Duke missed a hit, and IU won. Then in the second game, she served an ace for the victory. Welter was also named to the All-Tournament team.\n"I think that it was real important step for us and come back and beat Duke." Welter said. "The third match of a tournament is always tough, you've played two, you're a little fatigued, and to come back and beat Duke is a great accomplishment, because they're really a good team."\nHill once again led the team with 17 kills and managed three service aces. Toivonen was close behind with 15 kills and two service aces, and freshman middle blocker Melissa Brewer had 13 kills.\n"We've talked about focus and confidence all week during practice," Brewer said. "It definitely raised our confidence. It's great to end with a win"