Volleyball Heads to Nebraska, Iowa

IU SPORTS INFORMATION

Indiana Volleyball (11-15, 3-11) makes its final weekend road trip of the season this weekend to take on No. 9 Nebraska (18-5, 10-4) on Fri., Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. ET and Iowa (10-17, 2-12) at 8 p.m. ET on Sat., Nov. 10. The Hoosiers look to avenge losses to both teams earlier this season. IU is coming off a 1-1 weekend, where the team won at Northwestern 3-0 and fell at Illinois 3-1.

The meeting between the Hoosiers and Huskers on Oct. 6 in Bloomington saw IU lead two sets to one before then-No. 4 Nebraska was able to close things out. Nebraska is led by four All-Americans, including Gina Mancuso, who was huge in Nebraska's comeback at U-Gym with 14 kills and two aces, including six and one in the fifth set. Nebraska is coming off back-to-back Big Ten losses for the first time in school history

Iowa knocked off the Hoosiers in Bloomington 3-1 and followed that up with a 3-0 win at then-No. 12 Purdue. Since that weekend, the Hawkeyes are 0-8, and they've gone six matches without winning a set, so Iowa should be hungry to get back in the win column. Rachael Bedell had 26 kills against the Hoosiers in first matchup, as she carried the Hawkeyes to victory.

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 12 double-doubles this season and is seventh in the Big Ten at 3.97 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.

With 393 kills on the season, Haverly sits at 1,302 career kills. In the Georgia Tech match, she became the 15th Hoosier all-time to reach 1000 career kills.

In the fourth set against Northwestern, the junior co-captain had nine of the 23 kills she had in the match. She has reached 23 kills in a match three times this season, including 24 against No. 4 Nebraska.

THE PRIDE OF RIVERSIDE
Indiana Volleyball's California Girl made her first appearance on the court in 2012 at Michigan, coming off the bench midway through set number one. Her impact was felt immediately, as the Hoosiers outscored the Wolverines over the next 75 points by a 47-28 margin, including a win in the second set.

With the loss of four seniors in 2011, Granado stepped up to fill the leadership void during the offseason. The senior from Riverside, Calif., got sick at the very end of the summer and was unable to play during the non-conference schedule however. With 2,179 career assists, Granado ranks eighth in IU history and played a key role in IU's success during the 2010 Sweet Sixteen run in the NCAA Tournament.

KELCI KILLS 1K
Senior Kelci Marschall led Indiana with 11 kills in IU's Saturday match against the No. 1 Penn State Nittany Lions. Her fifth kill of the match was number 1,000 for her career. She is the 16th player in IU history to reach the 1,000 kill milestone and joins Jordan Haverlyas active Hoosiers in the 1,000 kill club. Marschall's career total now sits at 1,060.

Marschall and Haverly are the first active Hoosiers with 1,000 career kills since 2007, when Erica Short and Lauren Ditteon both reached 1,000. Marschall is the fifth Hoosier to reach the 1,000 kill plateau in IU head coach Sherry Dunbar'ssix seasons at Indiana.

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 128 blocks, including 13 solo blocks. She earned All-Tournament honors at the Indiana Invitational with 22 blocks on the weekend. Thrower's 1.28 blocks per set ranks third in the Big Ten this season.

She had nine blocks and nine kills in the Bowling Green match. The senior is hitting .311 on the season, and hit an amazing .487 at the Indiana Invitational.

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 third on the team averaging 2.23 kills per set this season and is hitting .262.

MMMBOP
Junior Caitlin Hansenhas stepped up as a leader for the Indiana defense this year, playing 19 matches as the Hoosier Libero. The Indianapolis-native leads the team with 352 digs on the season and is averaging 3.56 per set.

Hansen has tallied double-figures digs in 19 matches this year, including six times in Big Ten play. She started the year with 10+ digs in 11 straight matches. She has topped 20 digs four times. She had a career-high 22 digs in the win over Purdue, and then topped that in the next match, tallying 26 in the win at Wisconsin. She garnered Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors for her efforts against Purdue and Wisconsin.

STRAIGHT OUTTA MUNCIE
Courtney Harnishis no stranger to big-time volleyball, coming from state of Indiana powerhouse Muncie Burris, and she has shown that the big stage isn't intimidating her as a freshman in the Big Ten.

Harnish has played six matches as the Indiana Libero this season. In Big Ten play, she has hit double-digits in digs four times and is averaging 2.24 per set. She had 19 against Northwestern and 20 against No. 4 Nebraska.

Harnish has also been a key server for IU, tallying nine aces on the year, including two in the win at Wisconsin.

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 seventh in the Big Ten on the season in assists per set at 10.29. This season she has 646 assists, 127 digs, 26 blocks, 19 kills and seven service aces.

MEELS ON WHEELS
Amelia Andersonis no longer just the up-and-coming freshman off the bench for IU. At the Hoosier Classic, she got the first three starts of her career and she took advantage. On the weekend, she hit .466 with 34 kills. She also added four digs and five blocks en route to All-Hoosier Classic honors. The Lake in the Hills, Ill., native is averaging 1.85 kills per set this season.

Anderson got back into the starting lineup against Purdue and at Wisconsin, killing nine in both matches and adding seven blocks on the weekend. She also had two timely aces, scoring the final two points of the third set at Wisconsin.

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.