Men look to improve standings

After a successful weekend at Purdue, the men's club volleyball team is preparing to carry its confidence into the upcoming Michigan Classic at the University of Michigan Jan. 26 and 27. \nThe Hoosiers began their Big Ten season Sunday, competing in the first of two Big Ten qualifiers. The next qualifier will be played at Iowa Feb. 16. The results of overall play through the two qualifiers determine the seeds for the Big Ten tournament March 22 and 23 at Northwestern. \nFacing Michigan, Ohio State, Purdue and Iowa didn't seem to faze the Hoosiers as they returned to Bloomington undefeated (4-0) and looking forward to the next series of matches.\n"This past weekend we played well, but I still think that we are not on top of our game," club president and junior Jeremy Levy, said. "Next weekend we want to go out there and prove we are the team to beat in the Midwest."\nLevy said the team is now tied with Illinois for the No. 1 spot in the Big Ten. The past weekend's matches gave the men experience against teams that they haven't yet scouted, which will prove helpful for the Michigan Classic. The Hoosiers are looking forward to matches against teams including Vanderbilt, Army, Navy, the University of Pennsylvania and Tennessee.\n"I think we stand a great chance at winning this weekend," sophomore Topher Soya said. "Illinois will not be there, but we play Michigan State and they played great this past weekend. We won the tournament last year, so things look very good for us."\nThis week the Hoosiers continue their three-hour practices and will use video of the past weekend's matches to correct mistakes made at Purdue. Recently the team has been working on its blocking skills to be able to have an advantage over its opponents.\n"Last week we really worked on defense and blocking in practice. We have been working with a new blocking strategy, and it really worked well for us this weekend," sophomore and club secretary Chris Reilly said. \nThe Hoosiers' success through the preseason has come from hard work, but the team's chemistry has also played a huge part on their undefeated record.\n"The team gets along very well," Soya said. "I have played on a lot of teams, and no team that I have played on has gotten along as well as we do on and off the court. The team is the best that I have been on that has meshed this well"