U-Gym Set for A Big Weekend of Volleyball

Indiana Volleyball (6-3) returns home this weekend to host the Hoosier Classic at University Gym. Indiana hosts Valparaiso (5-6), Chattanooga (6-6) and Miami (4-6) on the weekend in a round-robin tournament. Indiana plays Valparaiso at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 14. Saturday sees the Hoosiers take on Chattanooga at Noon ET and Miami at 7 p.m. ET. Volleyball fans can also catch Miami vs. Chattanooga at 5 p.m. on Friday, Miami vs. Valparaiso at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Valparaiso vs. Chattanooga at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

IUHoosiers.com will have free live audio of all matches, with the "Voice of IU Volleyball", Greg Murray, on the call.

DUNBAR WINS NUMBER 200
With a 3-0 IU win over Western Illinois on September 8th, Indiana Volleyball Head Coach Sherry Dunbarmoved her career win total to 200. The Ellettsville, Indiana native is in her sixth season at IU and has a career record of 200 and 109. That is a winning percentage of .647 in nine seasons as a collegiate head coach.

Dunbar has 87 victories as Indiana's head coach, which is third-most in program history. In her sixth year at IU, Dunbar has produced Indiana's first Sweet Sixteen appearance, five All-Big Ten honorees and two-time All-American Ashley Benson.

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK
Junior Jordan Haverlyis coming off a redshirt season, which was brought about by an ACL tear in the Spring of 2011. Haverly was an honorable mention All-Big Ten performer in 2010, helping IU to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament.

After a year on the bench, the Cherry Valley, Ill., native was anxious to hit the court with her team, and she didn't waste any time. Haverly earned Black Knight Invitational MVP honors after killing 38 balls and leading the Hoosiers to a 3-0 start to the season.

Haverly has six double-doubles this season and is third in the Big Ten this season at 4.33 kills per set. She played just one set against Quinnipiac, but still managed enough votes from coaches at the Black Knight Invitational for MVP honors.

She earned All-Tourney honors at the Indiana Invitational, tallying 53 kills on the weekend, including 20 in the win over Cleveland State and 19 in the win over Georgia Tech. She has four double-doubles this season.

With 143 kills on the season, Haverly sits at 1052 career kills. She became the 15th Hoosier all-time to reach 1000 career kills against Georgia Tech.

K-MARSCH: BLUE-LIGHT SPECIAL
Senior Kelci Marschall was third on the IU team in kills in 2010, so naturally, it was expected that with the loss of Ashley Benson to graduation and Jordan Haverlyto injury, Marschall might have some extra work in 2011.

Marschall got the message loud and clear, as she lead the Hoosiers in kills with 336 (3.10 per set). She had six double-doubles on the season.

In 2012, Marschall has double digit kills in three matches and is hitting .221 for the season. She earned All-Black Knight Invitational honors at West Point to start the season and had 27 kills while hitting .384 in IU's wins over Cleveland State and Georgia Tech at the Indiana Invitational.

PERFECTION FOR THROWER
Junior middle blocker Samantha Thrower had big shoes to fill in 2011, trying to replace Ashley Benson, who did things no one in IU history had ever done. Well, against Buffalo, Thrower did something Benson nor any Big Ten player in history had done. She had 15 kills on 15 swings, breaking a Big Ten record and tying the national record for hitting percentage as well.

In 2012, Thrower will look to play at that dominant level on a more consistent basis. The team leader in blocks in 2011, the senior from Sycamore, Ill., leads the Hoosiers already this season with 54 blocks, including seven solo blocks. She earned All-Tournament honors at the Indiana Invitational with 22 blocks on the weekend. She leads the Big Ten and ranks seventh nationally on the season with an average of 1.59 blocks per set.

She had nine blocks and nine kills in the Bowling Green match. The senior is hitting .258 on the season, and hit an amazing .487 at the Indiana Invitational.

GALLAGHER DROPS THE HAMMER
There was no learning curve for Katie Gallagher, she was thrown right to the wolves, and she not only survived but thrived in her first weekend of collegiate play. The freshman setter earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors after the first weekend of the season. She is second in the Big Ten on the season in assists per set at 11.60.

Gallagher, an AAU All-American in high school, has dished out 142 assists in 11 sets at the Black Knight Invitational, leading the Hoosiers to a 3-0 record and amassing two double-doubles along the way. She also added a team-high 38 digs to go along with four blocks, a kill and a service ace.

This season she has 406 assists, 88 digs, 17 blocks, 13 kills and four service aces.

HANSEN SETTLING IN AT LIBERO
Playing libero in the Big Ten is no easy task, but when you're taking over the spot after the all-time digs leader in IU history, Caitlin Cox, things get even tougher. Caitlin Hansenis doing just that.

The Indianapolis native has registered double-digit digs in every match this season, and appears to be getting comfortable running the IU defense. She earned Indiana Invitational MVP honors after digging 49 balls in the three matches, leading IU to the title. Hansen was huge in IU's win over Georgia Tech with 19 digs and four aces and had 21 digs against Butler.

MORGAN IN THE MIDDLE
A breakout player for the Hoosiers in 2011, Morgan Leachpicked up right where she left off in the first weekend of her sophomore campaign.

Leach earned All-Black Knight Invitational honors with 30 kills and 10 blocks on the weekend. The Champaign, Ill., native got those 30 kills while hitting .551 on the weekend. She averaged 2.73 kills per set and 0.91 blocks per set.

Leach is second on the team averaging 2.44 kills per set this season and is hitting a team-high .345.

NEW LOOK HOOSIERS
The Hoosiers welcome in a heralded class of five freshman this season. The group includes two hitters, a setter and two defensive specialists. Both defensive specialists are native Hoosiers, while the other three players are from just across the border in Illinois.

Amelia Andersonhighlights the group as an outside hitter. The talented 6-1 player from Lake in the Hills, Ill., has a big serve and should play early and often in the IU lineup.

With Whitney Granado out for the start of the season with an illness, freshman setter Katie Gallagherwill get a lot of early time running the Hoosier offense. A high school All-American out of Elmhurst, Ill., she should be up to the challenge.

Defensive specialists Courtney Harnish (Muncie, Ind.) and Kyndall Merritt(Georgetown, Ind.) come to IU from perennial winning programs. Both players should see time in Indiana's back row defense this season.

Mariah Colemanis a talented, athletic right-side hitter out of Longview, Ill. The 6-2 athlete didn't play much club volleyball, but with her athleticism, energy and skills is expected to develop well. Indiana's coaches expect to redshirt Coleman in 2012.

ALWAYS IN THE KNOW
Hoosier fans can follow their volleyball team like never before by logging on to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube all season long. Indiana can be followed on Twitter (twitter.com/IUVolleyball) and Facebook (facebook.com/IUVolleyball). In addition, a live audio or video broadcast of all matches can be found at IUHoosiers.com. Greg Murray is in his first season as the voice of IU Volleyball.

JUST JADE
Junior Jade Hendersongives you an inside look at the Indiana Volleyball program in her weekly Youtube blog, Just Jade. The weekly video blog is posted on Monday's and gives viewers a glimpse at the life of an Indiana student-athlete.

INSIDE IU VOLLEYBALL
Need more IU Volleyball in your life? Check out "Inside IU Volleyball with Sherry Dunbar," a weekly show aired every Wednesday throughout the season. The Voice of IU Volleyball Greg Murray will serve as host and catch up with Coach Dunbar and players each week to get a closer look at exactly what's going on in the world of Hoosier Volleyball.