IU looks for 1st conference victory against rival Purdue

Valuable points in the Crimson and Gold Cup will be awarded today as the IU volleyball team welcomes No. 17 Purdue to University Gym.

“It’s truly a fun match to play every year,” senior right-side hitter Kelci Marschall said. “It’s always a battle. It just has that feeling, you know? It’s Purdue.”

Indiana (8-12, 0-8) is the lone Big Ten team without a conference win this season. IU will look for its first Big Ten victory against instate-rival, Purdue (14-5, 5-3), who is tied for fourth in the conference.

This is the first match of the year where the Hoosiers will play on a weekday, as they usually square off with other teams on Friday or Saturday nights.

“Our assistants have already cut up the matches from last weekend and the week before,” IU Coach Sherry Dunbar said. “So we got our scouting report almost done.”
Sunday’s practice had a lot of review of game film, junior defensive specialist Caitlin Hansen said.

“Basically we’re going to be watching a lot of film,” Hansen said. “The coaches have been doing a great job getting us prepared. Now it’s our turn. We’ve been given all the tools we need, and we have to channel it in the right direction so we can get our first win in the Big Ten.”

After starting 4-0 in Big Ten play, the Boilermakers went three matches without winning a set against Nebraska, Iowa and Penn State.

Purdue was able to stop its skid Saturday as it took down No. 19 Ohio State in four sets.

The player to watch on Purdue’s squad is outside hitter Ariel Turner. She is third in the Big Ten, averaging 4.84 points per set and fourth in kills per set at 4.18.

Last year Turner was named Big Ten Player of the Year, a First Team All-American and was named Big Ten Player of the Week five times.

In the two matches the teams played against each other in 2011, Turner totaled 53 total kills against IU, an average of 5.9 kills per set.

Purdue has owned the series as of late, winning 10 of the last 12 meetings with Indiana. The last time the Hoosiers beat the Boilermakers at home, Kelvin Sampson was the head coach of the men’s basketball program.

Eleven out of the team’s 15 members have not seen a victory against Purdue in their careers, including Hansen.

“I think it’s something where we most want to beat them,” Hansen said. “In-state rival, that’s always the biggest thing, and if we can get a win on them, it will improve ourselves. We will try to prove ourselves.”