Wisconsin defense next challenge for 11-loss team

It’s been more than a month since the IU women’s volleyball team won a game.
That’s the reality for the IU entering this Saturday’s match against Wisconsin.

On Wednesday, the team’s losing streak extended to 11 games, dropping a five-set heartbreaker to in-state rival No. 12 Purdue.

IU Coach Sherry Dunbar said after a passive first set, the team turned up the intensity and transformed into a completely different team.

“We stayed in every point and battled with them,” Dunbar said. “It was a tough one to lose, but for the first time we began to see a lot of the things that we had worked on in practice carry over to the match.”

One of the things Dunbar and the Hoosiers have focused on this week in practice has been effective attacking early in the set.

So far this season, the Hoosiers have struggled on the attack — entering the week ranked second to last in the Big Ten in both kills per set (11.95) and hitting percentage (.177).

Against the Boilermakers, the Hoosiers had four players with more than 10 kills. They hit .138 percent as a team.

Attacking the Badger defense will be tough as Wisconsin leads the Big Ten in digs per set, averaging 16.05. The Badgers’ defense is led by sophomore defensive specialist Annemarie Hickey, who leads the Big Ten with 4.85 digs per set.

In comparison, the Hoosiers are second to last in the Big Ten in digs per set (13 digs per set). While overall the team has struggled getting to and digging balls, libero Caitlin Cox ranks seventh in the conference with 4.24 digs per set.

On Monday, Cox said the team needs to be confident in itself — even with the long losing streak.

“We need to take this as a challenge,” Cox said. “If we go into matches with the right attitude and mindset, we will have the confidence to make these good matches.”

With five players averaging more than 2.09 kills per set, the Badgers boast a balanced offensive attack that is led by Alexis Mitchell, who ranks seventh in the conference in hitting percentage with a .353 average. Heading into the week, Wisconsin ranks sixth in kills in the Big Ten.

If the Hoosiers are going to have success defending the Badgers, middle blocker Samantha Thrower said the team’s block will need to step up.

“We have really been working on our blocking techniques and strong blocking movements this week to be more aggressive,” Thrower said.

With a young team that has been taking its lumps in Big Ten play, Dunbar said the progress she has seen from her team has put the Hoosiers in a position to be successful, but that next step is the biggest.

“I told the team that the next step is believing that you can actually win,” Dunbar said. “We have to get to that step now. Competing is great, but now we need to find a way to win.”