Volleyball team improves against No. 18 Kentucky

After a disappointing loss at the hands of the University of Tennessee-Martin earlier in the day, the IU volleyball team gave No. 18 Kentucky a battle in its second match of the IU Adidas Classic.

In the end, however, it wasn’t enough as the Hoosiers (3-2) fell to the Wildcats (5-0) in four sets.

IU lost by scores of 23-25, 25-19, 19-25 and 18-25.

The team posted a collective attack percentage of .292 with 61 kills to 23 errors.

Senior outside hitter Kelsey Hall and junior middle blocker Ashley Benson led the way for the Hoosiers, recording 17 and 16 kills, respectively. Hall also led the team in digs with 15.

Hall said that it felt good to perform well against such a strong opponent, especially after the loss to UT-Martin.

“I think we were in a funk (earlier Friday),” Hall said. “I think it’s good for our confidence, our ego, and we can build that and add to something important.”

Hall also said the strong support the team had in University Gym for the game lifted their energy and performance.

“I think the fans’ energy in here was so overwhelming,” she said. “We haven’t had that in a long time. We’ll get a few fans here and there, but this was amazing.”

The Hoosiers have two matches on Saturday to wrap the tournament, the first at noon against Murray State and the second at 7 p.m. against the University of Illinois-Chicago.