Let's take a quick look at the IU women's volleyball team's win over Eastern Illinois University, Saturday night at the Hoosier Classic.
What Happened:
The Hoosiers swept the Panthers in three sets to complete an undefeated weekend. The Hoosiers were dominant at times, but steady throughout and played one of their most complete games of the season.
After sweeping another weekend at home and winning the Hoosier Classic, the team moved to 6-0 in front of the home crowd and 7-2 overall.
How it Happened:
Strong serving and blocking was the recipe for the Hoosiers to beat the Panthers. IU had eight aces and 20 blocks compared to EIU's one ace and four blocks.
Morgan Leach led with seven blocks and Kelci Marschall and Mary Chaudoin each added 4 blocks of their own.
Chaudoin was in the starting line-up for only the second time this season and sparked the Hoosiers' offense throughout with seven kills on eleven attempts (.636 hitting percentage).
After the match, Morgan Leach, Samantha Thrower and Caitlin Cox were named to the All-Hoosier Classic Tournament team.
The selection is the second in as many weeks for Leach and Thrower, who were named to the All-IU Classic Tournament team last weekend.
Cox, who broke the IU career digs record Friday night, was named MVP of the tournament. Friday night, the senior libero also tied her single-game best with 27 digs against Gonzaga.
What it Means:
This weekend's Hoosier Classic was all about getting ready for Big Ten play in two weeks. The Hoosier's raised their level of play, but more importantly did not play down to their opponents. With steady play throughout, the team will be confident moving closer to the treacherous Big Ten schedule.
The Hoosiers also proved yet again that University Gym remains one of the team's biggest advantages. It has been near to impossible to beat the Hoosiers at home moving to 19-2 over the last two seasons.
What's Next for the Hoosiers:
The Hoosiers will return to practice this week before traveling to San Diego next weekend to play George Washington, UC Santa Barbara and San Diego.
Stat of the Night:
The Hoosiers never trailed by more than one point at any point against Eastern Illinois and only trailed three times in the whole match. The Hoosiers dropped the very first point of the match to go down 1-0 and did not trail again until the third set, where they trailed twice (2-1 and 8-7).
