Volleyball stays home for two weekend matches

Home court advantage seems to be in IU’s favor in Big Ten play.

The IU volleyball team (17-7, 5-7) is 7-1 at home, with key victories against then-No. 4 Penn State and then-No. 13 Michigan.

This weekend, No. 19 Minnesota (17-7, 7-5) and Iowa (6-15, 1-11) come to Bloomington to play on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

The last time the Hoosiers played these two teams, they lost to Iowa in five sets and Minnesota in three sets.

On the season, IU is 3-1 in five-set matches.

Iowa senior middle blocker Becky Walters led all players with 19 kills and two serving aces in the previous match.

“We didn’t play very well at Iowa,” IU coach Sherry Dunbar said. “They are a feisty team, and we really didn’t make plays in the end.”

After the teams exchanged in the first four sets, the host Hawkeyes took the last set by two points, 17-15.

Two days after the Iowa game, IU played Minnesota; the difference between the games was senior middle blocker Ashley Benson not playing due to concussion-like symptoms from practice.

Minnesota senior middle blocker Lauren Gibbemeyer also missed that game but will play tonight.

“We need to get those wins against the great teams, and they have Gibbemeyer back who is a great athlete,” senior middle blocker Taylor Wittmer said.

Defense might be key as the Hoosiers were out-blocked by the Golden Gophers 11-2.
“I think the effort plays really get the momentum back on our side,” Dunbar said. “We’ve been focusing on our block and team defense.”

Wittmer said home matches are important because playing well could bring the crowd to continue to support the team.

“The fans come out, and we want to give them a show and something they can come back to see,” Wittmer said.