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Blackwell, Stockham Earn Big Ten Weekly Honors

 Indiana freshmen Leyla Blackwell and Tommi Stockham earned Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors, the league announced today. Blackwell earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, while Stockham earned Freshman of the Week.
 
Blackwell, a native of San Diego, Calif., recorded 13 blocks in the Hoosiers five-set win at Iowa on February 6. In doing so, she tied an Indiana program record for blocks in a Big Ten five-set match. Blackwell's effort in the match helped the team record 22 blocks, which is tied for the second most in program history for a Big Ten five-set match.  
 
Blackwell currently ranks sixth in the Big Ten in blocks at 1.39 per set.
 
Stockham tallied 26 kills in the Indiana five-set win against Iowa and hit .393 in the match. In each of the matches against Iowa last week, Stockham recorded double-double with double digit kills and digs. She also contributed two aces in the Hoosiers win over the Hawkeyes.
 
Stockham, a native of Las Vegas, Nev., currently ranks sixth in the Big Ten in kills at 3.61 per set.

The last Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honor for Indiana was Awele Nwaeze in 2014 and the last Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor for Indiana was Kendall Beerman in 2016.
 
The Hoosiers return to play this week as they host No. 1 Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday at Wilkinson Hall.  

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Maryland Next for Indiana Volleyball

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind.– Indiana volleyball will welcome Maryland for two matches this week at Wilkinson Hall.
 
Indiana vs. Maryland
Friday March 5 and Saturday March 6, 2021 • 5:00 p.m. ET
Wilkinson Hall • Bloomington, Ind.
Video: BTN Plus
Live Stats
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram  
 
Attendance at 2020-21 volleyball matches will be limited to the immediate family of student-athletes, coaching staff, volleyball personnel and members of the team traveling parties.
 
ABOUT MARYLAND
• Maryland is 1-9 on the season with their victory coming in a five-set match against Michigan on Feb. 19.
• Maryland was off this past weekend as their matches with Penn State were postponed due to health and safety protocols.
• Maryland leads the Big Ten in blocking, averaging 2.71 blocks per set.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• Maryland leads the all-time series 8-3. Both matches last season went five sets with Maryland coming out on top in both. In the most recent match against Maryland, Breana Edwards broke the Indiana record for kills in a match with 39.
 
NOTES
• IU head coach Steve Aird is in his third season with Indiana volleyball.
• The Hoosiers 2020 class of current freshmen were ranked 15th in the country by PrepVolleyball.Com. It is the highest ranked class in program history and includes eight freshmen.
• In addition to the eight freshmen the Hoosiers add transfer Brooke Westbeld. Westbeld comes from Dayton and will be a senior. In 2018 Westbeld earned AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honors.
• The Hoosiers return just four players that played 17 or more sets in the 2019 season.
• The Indiana 2021 class, announced in November includes three top kids from Indiana and a player current on the Canadian Junior National Team.
• In March, then sophomore Breana Edwards was selected to the US Collegiate National Team – Gold Roster. She would have trained over the summer with the senior national team in their preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but that was canceled.
• Although no fans will be allowed this season, last year the Hoosiers ranked 15th in the country in attendance and set a program record for average attendance.
• The Hoosiers captains for the 2021 season are Brooke Westbeld, Emily Fitzner and Breana Edwards.
 • Indiana has played eight of their 12 matches against top-11 opponents (No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 5 Nebraska No. 8 Penn State and No. 11 Purdue).
 • Haley Armstrong has recorded double-digit digs in eight of her last 11 matches. Armstrong leads Indiana in digs with 134.
 • Freshman Leyla Blackwell lead the Hoosiers in blocking with 42 on the season. Blackwell earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors following the Hoosiers five set win at Iowa, where she recorded 13 blocks in the match.
 • Freshman Tommi Stockham leads the Hoosiers with 132 kills on the season. Stockham posted double-digit kills in each match at Penn State. Stockham was the Big Ten Freshman of the Week following the Hoosiers series with Iowa when she tallied 26 kills in the Hoosiers five set win over Iowa.
 • In the Hoosiers series with Penn State, Indiana won the second set of the first match, 27-25. It was the first time since 2012 that Indiana had won a set against the Nittany Lions.
• Sophomore Ashley Zulauf recorded a career-high 11 digs last time out in the match at Purdue.

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I hate to rain on people's party, but this team based on today's performance is going nowhere still in a tough Big Ten and looked horrible against that level of competition (I was sitting right behind official scorer in first row today).

I hope for the best, but so far Coach Aird has been a lot of talking and hype with few results. This is now his fourth year and team is just as bad as when he got here. To top it off, his two best players transferred in offseason which is never a good sign.

Don't call me a hater and I really want success from Aird and this program. It's a brutally tough Big Ten, but so far I have heard a lot of talk and seen zero results. A lot of good recruiting but no development and players are transferring when they get here. 

I really hope I am wrong, but so far I see nothing to suggest this program is anything but spinning its wheels. 

Another thing to note is IU has played Men's Soccer, Women's Basketball and Women's Soccer here and managed to split the crowd. With Volleyball there is small section of IU fans at best, so clearly I am not only one not sold on this team. 

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I know that we should just go ahead and fire Aird, disband the program and expel all the players, but:

Discover Kalamazoo Classic On Deck For Indiana Volleyball

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana Volleyball (3-0) will spend the second weekend of competition up north at Western Michigan for the Discover Kalamazoo Classic. The Hoosiers will play Western Michigan (2-1) on Friday, September 3 at 7 p.m. They will play two on Saturday September 4 against Purdue Fort Wayne (0-3) and Southeast Missouri State (3-0). The match against the Mastodons will commence at 11 a.m. while the Hoosiers will face the Redhawks at 4 p.m.
 
Discover Kalamazoo Classic
Kalamazoo, Mich. | University Arena
Friday, September 3 • Western Michigan, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 4 • Purdue Fort Wayne, 11 a.m.
Saturday, September 4 • Southeast Missouri State, 4:30 p.m.
Video: Purdue Fort Wayne | Southeast Missouri State
Live Stats: Western Michigan
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
 
Opening Serve
• The Hoosiers went 3-0 against UIC, Bowling Green, and Butler in the opening weekend of play. This is the first time since 2017 that Indiana has opened the season blemish free. They defeated Ball State in three straight sets in 2017.
 
• With the 3-0 win over UIC, Indiana has won the season opening contest 13 out of the last 14 seasons. The only loss coming last season to No. 5 Nebraska.
 
• Through the first three games, Kaley Rammelsberg leads the Indiana attack with 27 kills and a hitting percentage of .511. She currently ranks No. 4 among Big Ten players.
 
• Paula Cerame ranks No. 8 in the conference in digs per game with 44 for an average of 4.00 a set. This was the first weekend that Cerame suited up for the Hoosiers and started all three games.
 
All-Time Series
• This will be the first meeting between the Hoosiers and the Broncos in program history.
 
•Indiana has only squared off against Purdue Fort Wayne on two occasions, the most recent coming in 2004 where the Hoosiers received the edge. They also got the win over the Mastodons in 1979 on a neutral court.
 
• The Hoosiers have played Southeast Missouri State once prior, beating the Redhawks at home in 2014 in straight sets.
 
Checking Out The Competition 
• Western Michigan: Colleen Munson is in her 19th season at the helm of the Broncos. She has led Western Michigan to a record of 2-1 through the first three matches of the season. The Broncos opened the season at the Auto Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational against Michigan State where they were swept by the Spartans. They were able to bounce back with three straight set victories over Wright State and Canisius. Maggie King leads the squad through the first weekend with 33 kills and 40.5 points. Sophomore Logan Case was named MAC West Setter of the Week after recording her first double-double of the season (30 assists and 11 digs) against Michigan State. She also had 24 assists in the win over Wright State.
 
• Purdue Fort Wayne: The Mastodons are coached by Steve Florio who is in his eighth season. Purdue Fort Wayne opened 2021 with a home tournament where they went 0-3. The Mastodons took SIUE to five sets in the opening match before falling in three sets to Evansville. In the closing match of the weekend, Purdue Fort Wayne won sets one and four, but couldn't hang on in the final set and dropped the match to Kent State. Katie Crowe leads the attack with 42 kills, 33 digs, and has recorded 50.5 points.
 
• Southeast Missouri State: Julie Yankus enters her 11th season in control of the Redhawks. She has complied a conference record of 91-73 through 10 seasons. The Redhawks won their first three matches of the season. They now have victories over DePaul, Bradley, and Central Michigan. Tara Beilsmith leads the team in digs with 84 while Laney Malloy has recorded a team-high 42 kills. Talia Gouard leads the Redhawks in blocking with 16 and is averaging 1.64 blocks per set.
 
News & Notes
• Indiana put up 36 blocks as a team through their first three games. This is the fourth best total in the Big Ten.
 
• As a team, the Hoosiers allowed its opponents to hit .123 which ranks fifth among the Big Ten.
 
•  Ranking sixth in the Big Ten, Indiana recorded 174 digs in the opening weekend,
 
• Savannah Kjolhede and Kari Zumach lead the squad in the blocks with 14 a piece.
 
• Senior outside hitter Breana Edwards has recorded a team-high 24 kills in 2021.

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Don't say I didn't warn you. Lost 3-2 to a Western Michigan team that is solid but nothing special. If you can't beat them good luck winning more than 1-2 Big Ten games.

So far Aird has been a lot of talk and no substance. He is trying and it is a brutal Big Ten, but right now in four years team is just as bad as when he got here.

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You just got blown out by Chicago State. Nothing more needs to be said now that Aird is an abject disaster.

This is a tough job and I appreciate Aird trying, but the bottom line is he just lost to a team that can barely fund an athletic department in his fourth year. Aird is officially Archie Miller now in that he is a great hire on paper and should of succeeded, but despite solid recruiting, cannot develop the players and lost a bunch of the top ones to transfer.

Four years is enough time and when them team wins 2-3 Big Ten games at most this year its time for a change. You have a great facility now and to be worse than a MAC team and a WAC team that can barely fund an athletic department is inexcusable. You also needed a miracle to beat another bad MAC and Ohio Valley team. 

If IU does not really care about the results for this program that's fine and it is definitely lower on totem pole. However, like Archie, Aird is taking this team nowhere period. 

Last coach Sherry Dunbar was up and down like Crean but had some good years and some really bad ones. Aird unfortunately cannot even get through the door to try to have a good season. 

I wanted Aird and this team to work and I love his enthusiasm, but it is not going to under his watch.  

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At the risk of offending the volleyball gods....

IUVB Opens Lid On Big Ten Play Friday And Sunday

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana Volleyball (6-6) opens Big Ten Conference play this weekend against Michigan State (7-2) and No. 7 Purdue (8-1). The Hoosiers will face the Spartans on Friday, September 24 at 7 p.m. and will then face in-state foe No. 7 Purdue on Sunday, September 26 at 2 p.m. Both matches will stream live on BTN+.
 
Indiana vs. Michigan State
Bloomington, Ind. | Wilkinson Hall
Friday, September 24 • 7:00 p.m.
Live Stream (BTN+) | Live Stats | Tickets
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
 
Indiana vs. No. 7 Purdue
Bloomington, Ind. | Wilkinson Hall
Sunday, September 26 • 2:00 p.m.
Live Stream (BTN+) | Live Stats | Tickets
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
 
The Opening Serve
• The Hoosiers spent last weekend hosting the Indiana Invitational inside Wilkinson Hall. Indiana defeated Alabama A&M in straight sets before falling to Chicago State and Ole Miss the following day.
 
• Junior middle blocker Kaley Rammelsberg leads the squad in kills and hitting percentage with 91 kills and a percentage of .425. Her .425 ranks fifth among the Big Ten Conference.
 
• Junior defensive specialist Paula Cerame has recorded a team leading 201 digs. This is good for sixth in the Big Ten. She is also averaging 4.28 per set.
 
• As a team, Indiana has put up 158 bocks which is eighth in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers are averaging 2.60 blocks per set.
 
All-Time Series
•  The Boilermakers hold a 72-34 all-time series record. Last time out the Hoosiers fell in straight sets on the road, 3-0 (18-25, 11-25, 14-25).
 
• Michigan State gets the edge over the Hoosiers in the all-time series, 30-50. The last time the two squads met was in the 2019 season where Indiana won in straight sets, 3-0 (25-20. 25-23, 25-22) before falling to the Spartans later in the year, 3-1 (18-25, 15-25, 25-20, 22-25).
 
Checking Out the Competition
 MICHIGAN STATE: Cathy George is at the helm of the Spartans program and is in her 17th year. Michigan State has started the 2021 campaign hot with a 7-2 record so far. Their two losses have come at the foot of Wright State and BYU. The Spartans attack is led by senior middle blocker Rebecka Pojian who has tallied 74 kills and a hitting percentage of .473. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Sarah Franklin leads the squad on defense with 39 total blocks this season.
 
• PURDUE: The Boilermakers are coached by Dave Shondell who is in his 19th season as head coach. Purdue is ranked No. 7 in the country and have played to an 8-1 record with their only loss coming to then No. 10 Louisville on Sept.10 at the Xavier University Tournament. The Boilermakers are led by senior outside hitter Grace Cleveland, and she has recorded 98 kills and a hitting percentage of .379. Sophomore middle blocker Taylor Trammell has a team-leading 34 blocks this season on defense.

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This Big Ten season is going to be ugly. We are .500 with losses to Chicago State and and Western Michigan and this looks like IU's weakest team since mid 2000's. Usually we do well in pre-conference than fall apart in conference with Big Ten being best conference in nation.

Since we looked bad in pre-conference not sure how we navigate Big Ten with more than 2-3 wins. No chance we beat anyone but Iowa, Rutgers, Maryland or NW and doubt we get all of those. Every other team is miles ahead of IU.

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13 hours ago, Aaron said:

This Big Ten season is going to be ugly. We are .500 with losses to Chicago State and and Western Michigan and this looks like IU's weakest team since mid 2000's. Usually we do well in pre-conference than fall apart in conference with Big Ten being best conference in nation.

Since we looked bad in pre-conference not sure how we navigate Big Ten with more than 2-3 wins. No chance we beat anyone but Iowa, Rutgers, Maryland or NW and doubt we get all of those. Every other team is miles ahead of IU.

Don’t look now but, you’re wrong as usual. IU sweeps  Michigan State. Take your negativity elsewhere 

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