Volleyball aims to end losing streak

This weekend, Northwestern (9-7, 1-3) and Illinois (6-8, 2-2) come to Bloomington to take on the IU volleyball team (8-7, 0-4).

The Hoosiers are looking to snap a six-match losing streak which started Sept. 20 when IU fell to Duke.

“The key for us to beating both teams is finding a way to end the long rallies and turn them into our favor, and also finding a way to put balls away faster,” sophomore
outside hitter Chante George said.

IU is led by junior outside hitter Morgan Leach, who has 146 kills. Sophomore middle blocker Awele Nwaeze has 134 kills, sophomore outside hitter Amelia Anderson has 130 kills, and senior Jordan Haverly has 123 kills.

Senior captain and libero Caitlin Hansen leads the Hoosiers in digs with 190, followed by Haverly with 101.

Sophomore setter Katie Gallagher has the team lead in assists with 339, and freshman Megan Tallmen has also added 219 assists.

“I think Saturday was a big breakthrough for us,” senior captain and outside hitter Jade Henderson said. “I think we are getting more hungry and hungry. I think we have hit a level where we are going to get better and better.”

Northwestern has notable wins against Boise State and Iowa, but have suffered some tough losses this year to Western Michigan, Oklahoma and Arizona. They are led by 2012 All-American senior Stephanie Holthus, who has 242 kills and 171 digs.

Freshman Kayla Morin has also added 140 kills for the Wildcats. Freshman Caleigh Ryan has 597 assists to lead the team, while sophomore Caroline Niedospial has 253 digs.

Illinois has played a tough schedule with more than half of their matches coming against ranked opponents.

They have notable wins over Florida State, Kentucky, and Michigan, all of whom are ranked.

They have suffered losses to Long Beach State, Michigan State, and Nebraska.

Leading the Fighting Illini in kills is sophomore Jocelyn Birks who has 204 kills.

“They set their outsides and right sides a lot and don’t use their middles as much, so it helps us a little bit with our preparation this week in just making sure we do a really good job of closing off the pins with our block and our block defense,” IU Coach Sherry
Dunbar said.

The Hoosiers are looking to come away with two more wins as they push for their first NCAA tournament birth since 2010.

“You need about ten wins, so however you get ten wins is how you do it,” Dunbar said.
“Is this a great opportunity? Absolutely. We are on the road for eight of the next 10 matches, so to pick up one or two wins this weekend at home, especially after playing well against Ohio State, would be a good opportunity.”

Follow reporter Andrew Vailliencourt on Twitter @AndrewVcourt.