Volleyball team welcomes ESPN to Bloomington

ESPN will be in Bloomington tonight to broadcast a home IU volleyball game for the first time ever on the network.

The Hoosiers (8-5) will take on No. 5 Penn State (10-2) at 7 p.m. at the University Gym. It will be a red-out to show IU spirit, and the team is encouraging students to come make it loud.

“We’re really excited,” IU junior middle blocker Morgan Leach said. “This is the first time that ESPN is coming into U-Gym, and we know that we play really well at home, and we have a great atmosphere at home.”

Penn State comes in with two losses: No. 4 Texas and No. 9 Michigan State. The Nittany Lions have notable wins against No. 3 Florida and No. 14 Michigan.

“It’s a great opportunity,” IU Coach Sherry Dunbar said. “It’s huge motivation for us.”

Penn State is led by junior Micha Hancock, who has 433 assists, 42 kills, 78 digs and leads the nation with an ace percentage of 0.83.

Senior Deja McClendon leads the team in kills with 96, and senior Ariel Scott has 94.
Junior Dominique Gonzalez leads the Nittany Lions with 138 digs.

“Ariel Scott is very versatile, hits well in transition, hits on the right, hits on the left, hits out of the back row and they utilize her a lot.” IU Assistant Coach Paul Koncir said. “When they really need points, they go to her.”

IU is led by Leach who has 128 kills, a team high.

Senior outside hitter Jordan Haverly adds 116 kills, and sophomores Amelia Anderson and Awele Nwaeze have 115 and 113, respectively.

Senior defensive specialist Caitlin Hansen leads the team in digs with 158, and sophomore setter Katie Gallagher leads the team in assists with 320.

“I am so excited for the program to get this exposure and have more people aware of Indiana volleyball and get more people involved with it,” Hansen said.

The Hoosiers are hoping to repeat what they did in 2010 when they upset highly-ranked Penn State at home.

“It’s super exciting,” Koncir said. “If anyone saw the 2010 match here when we beat them, it’s probably that all over again, but also on ESPN. It’s a huge moment for the program, having ESPN come here and put our gym on television. It’s just really a great opportunity, and our players are going to be fired up for it.”

IU comes in on a four-match losing streak, falling to Duke, No. 11 North Carolina, No. 8 Minnesota and No. 23 Wisconsin.

To beat Penn State, Koncir says the team will have to play fast.

“We have to play with speed,” he said. “We have to play really aggressively and really take risks, high risk swings and high risk serves. We will make some hitting errors and hit some balls out of bounds, but I think for us, we have to risk that much to win.”

The excitement for the match is strong with the players as well.

“Come out, and we’ll put on a show for you,” Leach said. “We always have fun on the court, and it’s fun to watch.”

Follow reporter Andrew Vailliencourt on Twitter @AndrewVcourt.