Hoosiers split pair of Big Ten matches

The IU women's volleyball team continued its string of impressive play this weekend, splitting two tough Big Ten matches. \nSaturday night at University Gymnasium, the Hoosiers dominated Iowa, winning in three games, 30-23, 30-22, 30-24. IU lost to No. 2 ranked Minnesota Friday night, however, the loss against the Golden Gophers did not keep the Hoosiers down for long.\n"It was important not to let our confidence get broken," said senior Katie Pollom. "We have to continue to defend our home court because it is so tough to get a road win in the Big Ten."\nAgainst Iowa, the Hoosiers looked as strong as they have all season. The Hawkeyes jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, but the Hoosiers fought back with a 12-4 run of their own.\nIU never looked back as senior Christina Archibald (13 kills, .333 hitting percentage) led the team to the 30-23 victory.\nTo start the second game, neither team was able to hold a lead until late in the game when the Hoosiers started pulling away. Holding the Hawkeye offense to just a .026 hitting percentage, the IU defense proved vital in the second game.\n"Our defense, blocking and on the back line, has really been picking it up lately. The defense was huge for us tonight," said IU Coach Katie Weismiller.\nHoping to mount a comeback, the Hawkeyes scored the first two points of the third game. IU has struggled with closing teams out in recent weeks, but powered by impressive defense, IU went on to a 30-24 victory.\nOverall, the Hoosier defense held the Hawkeyes to a .025 hitting percentage, compared to their own percentage of .271.\n"We were fired up tonight," Pollom said. "We played really well and hustled all the way through." \nAgainst Iowa, IU had only one player with double-digit kills, Archibald with 13, but five players had at least seven kills apiece.\nFriday night against the No. 2 Golden Gophers, IU struggled, losing in three games, 28-30, 15-30, 22-30. In the first game, the Hoosiers stuck with Minnesota throughout but were unable to get over the top.\nMinnesota came out strong in the second game, stifling the Hoosier offense. The Golden Gophers went on a 10-4 run to close out the game.\nThe Hoosiers turned it around in the final game, but Minnesota proved too much late, ending the match on a 7-2 run.\nThe disappointing loss to the Golden Gophers did not seem to faze the Hoosiers as they dismantled Iowa the following evening. \n"We started off a little slow against Iowa, but we kept plugging away and kept at it," Weismiller said after the team's second victory in its last three matches.\nThe win brings the Hoosiers' record up to 8-13 overall, 2-8 in the Big Ten. \nThe Hoosiers said they hope Saturday night's win might be just what they need as they hit the halfway mark in the conference season.\n"This is really a confidence boost for us," Archibald said. "We're going to need a push in the second half to finish strong."\nThe Hoosiers will travel this weekend to play No. 5 Penn State Friday and No. 7 Ohio State Saturday.\n-- Contact staff writer Tim O'Brien at tpobrien@indiana.edu.