Volleyball team prepares to play Hoosier Classic

After suffering its first defeat last weekend to College of Charleston, the IU volleyball team (5-1) looks to get back on track with its second home tournament of the year.

In this tournament, called the Hoosier Classic, IU will take on Wyoming, Tennessee State and University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB).

“We have a long way to go,” junior Morgan Leach said, “and that makes us even more hungry for next weekend, to come out and show what Indiana volleyball really is.”

Wyoming (6-1) played in two tournaments and went 4-0 in the first one against Stetson, Idaho, Montana State and Drake. In its second tournament, Wyoming defeated James Madison and Presbyterian, and was defeated by CSU Bakersfield.

The Cowgirls are led by senior Becky Stewart, who leads the team in digs, and by redshirt freshman Mikaela Ryshytylo, who leads the team in kills.

“Both Wyoming and UAB are playing really good volleyball right now. I think both will be a challenge for us,” IU Coach Sherry Dunbar said.

Tennessee State (1-2) lost to Southern Alabama and Georgia Southern and beat Utah State in its only tournament of the season. The Tigers are led by redshirt junior Naomi Wells, who leads the team in kills and is a close second to junior Ileanushka Maldonado in digs.

“We take it one match at a time,” Dunbar said. “A win is a win right now, and I think we have done a pretty good job. Every tournament has had a team we don’t want to overlook, and I think we have handled that well and will continue to do it.”

UAB (7-2) comes to Bloomington with wins against Mercer, Jacksonville State, Presbyterian, Samford, North Dakota, Austin Peay and Georgia State.

The Blazers’ two losses came from Minnesota and Virginia Tech. They are led by sophomore Sam Skinner, who leads the team in kills, and by senior Becca Howard, who leads the team in assists.

“We have to step in and know that these teams are coming out to win,” sophomore setter Katie Gallagher said. “We have great chemistry and we need to use that to our advantage.”

IU also has a player who is somewhat in the national spotlight this year. Redshirt senior Jordan Haverly is third of all active NCAA players in kills, behind only Megan Devine of East Tennessee State and Lauren Wicinski of Michigan State, who leads all players.

“Hopefully this year we will open up even more for her this year, because of the type of athletes we have in our program,” Dunbar said. “The most important thing, though, is that our team wins, and I think she would say the same thing.”

Dunbar also said she expects the team to be able to bounce back from its loss on Saturday in this tournament, especially because of the team’s leaders.

“We had our first loss Saturday night, and Monday they came in and had one of their best practices of the season,” Dunbar said. “(Caitlin Hansen) is another coach on the floor, which is what you want your libero to be. Her leadership has changed dramatically from last year, from a more supportive role last year to a more demanding role this year.”

Follow reporter Andrew Vailliencourt on Twitter at @AndrewVcourt.