Let's take a quick look at Saturday's match between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Indiana Hoosiers.
What Happened:
On senior night, the IU women's volleyball team battled back from an early two sets to none deficit to end their 17-game losing streak in a dramatic 5-set victory (21-25, 18-25, 25-18, 25-20, 15-9).
How it Happened:
In a wild first set that saw multiple long points highlighted by diving saves on both sides, the final point was decided on what looked to be a floated set by Whitney Granado into a vacated area of the Hawkeye defense. Instead, the refs called a double hit on Granado and awarded the point to Iowa to close the set 25-21.
The Hoosiers had a very balanced attack in the first with six players recording kills, including three from both Morgan Leach and Kristen Seaton.
The Hoosiers came out completely flat in the crucial second set and let the Hawkeyes go on a 16-4 run after an early 3-3 tie to put IU down 19-7. Though the Crimson and Cream battled back to trail 24-18, the set was decided on yet another IU error--as one Hoosier touched the net during the set point.
As a team, the Hawkeyes had four aces in the set and forced the Hoosiers out of system all set with strong serving. Sophomore Nikki Dailey was one of the Iowa servers that forced the Hoosiers into bad passes that affected the rhythm of the IU attack.
In the third set, Kelci Marschall took it upon herself to ensure that the Hoosiers were not going to be swept on senior night. Marschall had five kills (one more than she had in the first two sets combined) in the third set as the Hoosiers forced a fourth set with a 25-18 set victory.
Entering the fourth set, Samantha Thrower had only four kills on the night, but the junior would double her kill count in the fourth set with four more kills--including kills to start and finish off a fourth set victory for IU.
The fourth set was the most back-and-forth set on the night with 8 different ties. With the Hoosiers looking like they were losing momentum with the score tied at 17-17, the Crimson and Cream put together a 6-0 run to put the fourth set out of Iowa's reach.
Riding high on the momentum of the fourth set, the Hoosiers jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the last set's race to 15 points--prompting timeout from Iowa coach Sharon Dingman and a standing ovation from the Hoosier faithful.
After a second Iowa timeout with the Hoosiers leading 12-8, Samantha Thrower put the exclamation mark on the Hoosiers huge comeback with three straight kills in the set's final three points, including two free ball kills to finish off the Hawkeyes.
On the match, Marschall finished with 18 kills to lead the Hoosiers. Thrower finished second on the team in kills with 14 and Kristen Seaton and Morgan Leach both added 12 kills each. Senior Caitlin Cox led with 28 digs and Whitney Granado followed with 16 digs herself.
What it Means:
The fight and grit that the Hoosiers showed clawing back from a two sets to none deficit was exactly what IU coach Sherry Dunbar has been looking for from the young IU squad. Once the team's backs were against the walls, non-seniors Kelci Marschall and Samantha Thrower elevated their play to save senior night.
It was clear that the whole team did not want senior night to be spoiled for the Hoosiers four seniors (Mary Chaudoin, Caitlin Cox, Lindsay Enterline and Kristen Seaton).
After the match, an emotional match was capped off with an even more emotional and heart-felt farewell from the seniors as they thanked their fans and family for all of the memories and moments.
In what has been a challenging season for the Hoosiers, the dramatic senior night comeback victory will surely be another moment these seniors will never forget.
What's Next for the Hoosiers:
The Hoosiers travel to Penn State and Ohio State for their last full weekend road trip.
Heading into this weekend, the Nittany Lions were ranked No. 9 in the nation and were tied for second place in the Big Ten standings. In their first meeting with Penn State, the Hoosiers were swept in straight sets.
As for the Buckeyes, Ohio State entered this weekend ranked No. 22 in the nation with a 17-10 record on the season.
Stat of the Night:
After hitting for a lowly .058 and .103 percentage in the first two sets, the Hoosiers finished by hitting over .280 percent in each of the final three sets (.375, .306, .286).
