Hoosiers start conference season with upset

IU has opened the Big Ten portion of its schedule in a fashion not seen since 1997. After upsetting the No. 18-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers on Friday night in straight sets, the team carried their success over to Saturday with another straight-set win over Iowa to push their winning streak to five consecutive matches.\n"It was a great weekend," said coach Katie Weismiller. "We had tough competition, but the plus was that we were at home. Any win in the Big Ten is a big win, but to sweep a weekend and open up that way, hopefully it's going to give us some momentum into the rest of the Big Ten season."\nThe Hoosiers carried over the momentum they picked up in the finals of the IU Credit Union Invitational, where they came back from being down 0-2 against Western Kentucky to take the match. Since that deficit, IU has torn off nine straight games as they swept both opponents this weekend.\n"(The Western Kentucky game) gave us a big character check, and I think when we started the Big Ten, we realized that we have to go out and we have to play hard. Nobody is going to roll over and die," Weismiller said.\nIU jumped out right away against the favored Gophers, riding behind the efficient hitting of senior Monique Pritz, who was three of three for kills in the first game, and finished with eight of her nine attacks going for kills.\nThe Hoosiers were carried by their efficient hitting all night, committing only 15 hitting errors as opposed to their 47 kills\n"I was just going up there to terminate," Pritz said. "Victoria (Zimmerman) did a great job of getting one on one's for us."\nThe team was in control throughout the first two games, capturing them 30-22 and 30-25. Minnesota, however, wouldn't go down easily as they fought the Hoosiers hard in game three, forcing IU to play from behind for the first time all night. But errors -- 12 in the first game alone -- proved costly for the Gophers, as they fell 34-32 to IU.\n"We were fired up," Weismiller said. "The Big Ten is tough, and we know that, it was just time to put it all together."\nIn the second game of the weekend, Iowa came out swinging, going up 5-1 right away, pushing IU right to the end as the Hoosiers ended up taking the game 30-27. After the close call in game one, however, the Hoosiers, led by senior Melissa Brewer, focused and began to step up their play. The hitting duo of Brewer and junior Christina Archibald combined for 27 kills and four and a half blocks, as Zimmerman spread the ball around for 40 assists.\n"After last night, I was just so proud of my team," Brewer said. "This is my senior year, and this is the time to do it. I've just got so much support behind me and we've got the most energetic team I have ever been with."\nThe Hoosiers took games two and three both 30-19, increasing their hitting percentage with each game, and ending up with a total of 52 kills. Junior Katie Pollom and sophomore Ashley White each racked up eight kills, while junior Beth Heimann, freshman Lindsay Cochrane and Archibald led the way defensively combining for 26 of the team's 43 digs. Senior Nikki Hill also added in with three service aces, and five over the whole weekend.\n"Everyone is just really, really excited about the season, and we just can't wait to get out there," White said. \nWhile the team has gotten off to its best start in the Big Ten in six years, the goals for the season are still the same.\n"One point, one game, one match at a time," Weismiller said. "We are always striving to do our best."\n-- Contact staff writer Brian Janosch at bjanosch@indiana.edu.