Hoosiers nab 1st road win

IU attained its first road win of the season as it split its weekend road trip. The Hoosiers defeated Iowa 28-30, 30-26, 30-26, 30-27 Friday, but then were swept in its match against Minnesota 30-22, 30-25, 30-17.\nJust one week after setting their season-high in block assists against Ohio State, the Hoosiers were able to set that mark again with 34 block assists against Iowa. Senior middle blocker Melissa Brewer also set a season high with 10 block assists.\nThe victory marked one of IU's best defensive performances of the year, as four Hoosiers got into double digits in digs, and four had more than five block assists. \n"It was a great team effort," IU coach Katie Weismiller said. "We had 20 team blocks. We did a nice job blocking and our passing was very, very good."\nDefensive specialists junior Beth Heimann and freshman Lindsay Cochrane led the way with 17 and 13 digs respectively. Junior outside hitter Christina Archibald and junior setter Victoria Zimmerman each had double-doubles as Archibald slammed 18 kills and had 11 digs, while Zimmerman had 11 digs of her own to go with her 42 assists on the night. Junior middle blocker Katie Pollom also had a strong night with 14 kills, seven block assists and three solo blocks.\nThe Hoosiers, however, were unable to carry the momentum to Minneapolis where the No. 24 Gophers halted the winning streak at two games. The loss dropped IU down to 11-16 on the season, and 4-12 in Big Ten play.\nZimmerman made the most of the weekend by capturing her second straight double-double bringing her team-high season total to seven. She was able to get 12 digs with her 31 assists, and only missed a triple-double by four kills. Heimann and Cochrane also hit the double digits in digs as they combined for 26 of IU's 53 digs. \nOnly Brewer and Archibald were able to crack 10 kills as the Minnesota defense forced IU into hitting a mere .117 hitting percentage. \n"Minnesota did a nice job tonight," Weismiller said. "They did a real nice job offensively. Our defense and passing was strong, but we couldn't terminate on the offensive end."\nThe Hoosiers come home again this weekend as they host No. 25 Illinois Friday and Northwestern Saturday.