IU hopes to kick into gear in final stretch

With only six matches remaining in the season, IU coach Sherry Dunbar said her team has to decide what kind of stamp to place on 2009.

“You get to this point where you’re kind of at a low ... and you’ve got to make a decision,” Dunbar said. “Either you’re going to give up, and you’re going to stay at the bottom, or you’re going to find a way as a team to fight through it and get out of it.”

The Hoosiers (14-14, 3-11) aim to snap a seven-match skid with rematches against Michigan State at 6 p.m. Friday and No. 14 Michigan at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Dunbar said IU needs to embrace the challenge of competing all season.

“This is where your true character comes out,” she said. “Some good things can come of it if you take it as an enjoyable challenge, and you don’t take it as ‘Oh, woe is me’ and start feeling that way.”

The Hoosiers make their first stop of the road trip in East Lansing, Mich., where the Spartans (16-10, 4-10) have earned all their Big Ten victories this season.

IU won the Sept. 26 meeting in Bloomington in four sets, but a season sweep of Michigan State could be difficult, sophomore setter Mary Chaudoin said.

“As we’ve learned, the Big Ten is the toughest conference in the nation, and every single night is a dogfight,” she said. “We’re just going to have to go out there, want it more than them and hopefully come out with the outcome that we want.”

The following evening, the Hoosiers will meet the Wolverines (20-7, 8-6) for the second time. Michigan swept IU in Bloomington Sept. 25 and leads the Big Ten in service aces.

Freshman outside hitter Jordan Haverly said team unity is vital going forward.
“I think it’s really important for us to just stay together as a team and stay positive,” Haverly said. “If we have that, anything is still possible.”