Let's take a quick look at the IU women's volleyball team's match against the Northwestern Wildcats in Bloomington, Indiana.
What Happened:
The IU women's volleyball team's struggles continued Friday night against a very athletic Northwestern club--getting swept in three sets for their 15th straight loss.
How it Happened:
The first set was a set of runs. IU jumped out to an early lead on a 8-3 run before the Wildcats answered with a seven-point run of their own to take the lead at 14-13. After exchanging points to make it 17-17, Northwestern took control of the tempo of the match with strong serving from Madalyn Shalter, finishing the match on an 8-4 run to win 25-21.
Kristen Seaton and Kelci Marschall dominated in the first set with seven and six kills, respectively.
While the Hoosiers came out firing looking like a new team in the first set, the team reverted to the tendencies that have led the Hoosiers into trouble all season--lack of energy and the inability to find the floor on the attack. After winning the first two points, the team never led again and was never closer than two points since the score was 13-11 almost halfway through the set.
Kelci Marschall continued her strong performance with five kills and two aces in the set. Kristen Seaton added three more kills in the set, including one of the hardest blasts of the season--sending the ball into the first row of seats, after it blasted off a Northwestern player on the opposite side of the court.
The final set was not pretty for Indiana. The Wildcats pounced on the Hoosiers early with a 9-2 run to start the set and never looked back--winning 25-12. IU never strung more than two consecutive points together in the final set and only scored consecutive points four times throughout the set.
Marschall finished with 15 kills and two aces to lead IU, while Seaton was the only other Hoosier with double-digit kills (10 kills).
What it Means:
After a promising and energetic start to the match, this loss will hurt the already bruised Hoosier psyche, but is yet another lesson to the team that it's not how you start--it's how you finish. The Wildcats and Hoosiers are similar teams in terms of youth and athleticism, so IU can learn from how Northwestern battles with more of a consistent energy level, instead of riding the highs and lows of a match.
What's Next for the Hoosiers
The IU women's volleyball team welcomes the No. 5 Fightin Illini into University Gym Saturday. While ranked No. 5 in the coaches' polls, the Fighting Illini ranked team in terms of RPI (strength of schedule). The Hoosiers fared well in their first match-up against the Illini, eventually losing in four sets, but competing throughout.
If the Hoosiers are going to upset the Illini, they will have to rely on strong play from Kelci Marschall and Caitlin Cox and hope that players such as Morgan Leach, Samantha Thrower, Ivie Obeime and Kristen Seaton step up with timely performances.
Stat of the Night:
While kills maybe one of the glamor stats of volleyball, the name of the game is efficiency. The Hoosiers out-killed the Wildcats 40-36, but hit at a significantly lower percentage (.164 to .341). IU committed 22 errors on 110 attempts, while Northwestern only posted five errors on 91 attempts.
