IU to venture to Wisconsin

After falling to Minnesota on Wednesday, the IU volleyball team (8-4) looks to bounce back Saturday when it plays at Wisconsin (11-1).

Wisconsin has notable  victories over Louisville, VCU, North Carolina State, Pepperdine, and Bowling Green. Their lone loss came to Kansas in a tournament in Madison, Wisc.

The Badgers are led by junior Ellen Chapman, who has 179 kills on the season, a team high. Leading them in assists is freshman Lauren Carlini with 340. Sophomore
Taylor Morey leads in digs with 197.

Wisconsin is coached by Kelly Sheffield, who is in his first season after being hired from Dayton. He was named the AVCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year as well as Coach of the Year in the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2012. He led Dayton to five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

“(We are looking to improve) our mentality,” IU Coach Sherry Dunbar said. “I think we have to play with more fight and be more fearless.”

IU is led by senior Jordan Haverly and junior Morgan Leach, who each have a team high 110 kills, followed closely by sophomore Awele Nwaeze with 107 and sophomore Amelia Anderson with 106. Senior captain Caitlin Hansen leads the Hoosiers in digs with 137, and sophomore Katie Gallagher leads the team in assists with 273.

“We’re really excited to play at Wisconsin and have another chance to prove ourselves,” Haverly said.

The Hoosiers started the year off strong by going 8-1, but has hit a rough patch, having played Duke, North Carolina and Minnesota. The latter two are in the top 15 teams in the country.

Eight teams from the Big Ten are ranked in the top 25.

“When we started last weekend, we have 17 out of 22 ranked teams left on our schedule,” Dunbar said. “We aren’t going to go 17-0 here, but we are looking to get to a level that we want to be at.”

Following Wisconsin, IU will play No. 1 Penn State at 7 p.m. Oct. 3 at home, in a match airing on ESPN2. Students who attend are encouraged to participate in the red out.

“It is the first time ESPN is coming to town, and I think it puts us on an even bigger national stage,” Dunbar said. “I think it’s a big match for us.”

After this the Hoosiers will face No. 13 Ohio State, Northwestern, and No. 24 Illinois, all at home.

Follow reporter Andrew Vailliencourt on Twitter @AndrewVcourt.