Volleyball swept in weekend matches

What Happened:
It was another tough weekend for the IU women’s volleyball team. They were swept by both No. 12 Penn State and No. 25 Ohio State.

Friday night, senior Kristen Seaton led the Hoosiers with eight kills, but IU could not slow the high-powered Penn State offense down.

The Nittany Lions combined to hit for a .385 percentage with 44 kills and only seven errors compared to the Hoosiers’ .121 hit percentage with 31 kills and 19 errors.

A pair of Nittany Lions both recorded double-digit kill performances. Penn State’s Ariel Scott led with 15 kills, and Deja McClendon added 13 kills to dominate the Hoosiers on the defensive side on the net with a combined five blocking assists.

Defensively, IU only managed two team blocks as Penn State controlled the tempo. The Hoosiers only led the match twice.

Against Ohio State, errors would be the Hoosiers’ downfall. IU committed 29 errors and only recorded 20 kills for a -.106 team hitting percentage.

Freshman Morgan Leach led the way for the Hoosiers with seven kills and two blocks, while fellow middle blocker Samantha Thrower added six kills and one block.

On defense, senior Caitlin Cox led the Hoosiers with eight digs, while junior Whitney Granado added seven and sophomore Caitlin Hansen had six.
           
Quote of note:
Thrower talking about limiting mistakes and playing better at the net:
“We need to be better at winning balls at the net. That’s what it comes down to,” Thrower said. “Our errors were errors at the net, and we need work on that if we are going to do a better job against Purdue.”
 
Stat of the Weekend:
Three-to-five — ratio of IU players who hit for a positive hitting percentage to those who hit for a negative percentage.

What’s Next for the Hoosiers:
The Hoosiers play in-state rival Purdue on Wednesday in the season’s final home game. Earlier in the year, the teams added another exciting match to the long list of memorable IU-Purdue moments, when the Boilermakers topped the Hoosiers in a five-set thriller.