Volleyball goes 2-1 at College of Charleston Invitational

The IU volleyball team (5-1) picked up two more wins and suffered its first loss of the season over the weekend at the College of Charleston Invitational.

The Hoosiers had two players make the all-tournament team — senior defensive specialist Caitlin Hansen and junior middle blocker Morgan Leach. Hansen led the team with 29 digs, and Leach led the team in kills with 32.

“Morgan Leach had just a great tournament,” IU Coach Sherry Dunbar said. “She was our best player the entire weekend. Caitlin Hansen was also very good. She led very well, stayed in the match all the time and did a really good job carrying a lot of the load for us with passing and defense.”

Friday, IU swept South Carolina State (25-13, 25-22, 25-16). Leach had 11 kills and  four aces. Sophomore Katie Gallagher had a season-high 31 assists with two blocks.
Freshman Taylor Lebo had a team-high 10 digs and added five aces, which tied her for second-most in IU history for aces in a three-set match.

“This weekend we came out on fire. Our biggest thing was our attack mentality,” Hansen said.

Saturday, the Hoosiers swept Coastal Carolina (25-21, 25-21, 25-21). Sophomore Awele Nwaeze had a team-high 11 kills with three blocks, while sophomore Chante George had a career-high seven kills.

“We came out and got some big leads and did a pretty good job with our serving,” Dunbar said.

Saturday, College of Charleston came out on top (22-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-21).

“Charleston is a really good team. They have a lot of really great hitters,” Leach said. “It’s kind of a wake up call.”

Dunbar said College of Charleston is the best team IU has played this season.

“They have gone to the tournament 12 years in a row, so they have a kind of swagger about them and they expect to win,” Dunbar said. “They might only lose one or two matches this year.”

Follow reporter Andrew Vailliencourt on Twitter @AndrewVcourt.