UM Volleyball Falls in NCAA Tournament First Round
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – A sellout crowd of 1,562 saw Indiana University push past the University of Miami, 3-2 (19-25, 25-18, 25-13, 20-25, 15-9) in the opening round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament [Dayton Region] inside University Gym in matches hosted by Indiana in Bloomington, Ind. For the second consecutive year, the UM volleyball team would go to a fifth set in its opening match of the NCAA Tournament. And, for the second consecutive year, the match would go down as a classic for the Hurricanes and their fans. Miami (23-9) opened the match with a 25-19 win behind four kills from three-time All-ACC junior outside hitter Lane Carico (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), aided by three kills and three assisted blocks from senior middle blocker Ariell Cooke (Oakland, Calif.). The first set loss for IU was just its second of the entire season at home. Indiana (22-11), the No. 2 seed for the Bloomington matches, used the momentum from the home crowd – in addition to blocks from Kelci Marschall and Taylor Wittmer, to charge back in the second frame. The Hoosiers were also sparked by kills from their “Big Two” of Ashley Benson and Jordan Haverly. IU was powerful in the third set, running out to a quick 8-0 lead before Miami was able to stop the Hoosiers’ run. Indiana never looked back en route to a 25-13 decision, taking a 2-1 lead in the match. Miami was able to take the fourth set behind the play of Carico with a set-high tying five kills, as well as junior outside hitter Christine Williamson (Tampa, Fla.) staking five kills on a .444 clip. UM used a 7-2 run to finish the set, riding the strength of Williamson and Carico down the stretch, taking the match to a fifth and final set. In the fifth set, things were back-and-forth to start with neither team able to capture more than a one point edge until IU’s Ilvie Obeime laid down a kill, followed by a UM attack error, giving the Hoosiers a 6-4 lead before Miami called timeout. Ilvie and Wittmer would collect back-to-back kills following the timeout to run out to an 8-4 lead for the Hoosiers. Down the stretch, Wittmer and Marschall combined for blocks on two different occasions to give Indiana the set and match victory, 15-9. |
Box Score | Box Score (PDF) | Season Stats | ||||||
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th University of Miami 25 18 13 25 9 Indiana University 19 25 25 20 15
| Team Stat Comparison | ||
 UM |
 IU |
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| Kills | 56 | 70 |
| Errors | 22 | 26 |
| Total Attempts | 183 | 199 |
| Hitting Percentage | .186 | .221 |
| Assists | 52 | 65 |
| Service Aces | 2 | 3 |
| Digs | 88 | 93 |
| Block Assists | 24 | 23 |
| Block Solo | 2 | 3 |
| Points | 72.0 | 87.5 |
| Miami | Stat Leaders | Indiana | ||
| L. Carico | 16 | Kills | 25 | A. Benson |
| K. Gallagher | 44 | Assists | 45 | M. Chaudoin |
| Cooke/Hollins | 1 | Aces | 2 | C. Cox |
| R. Shaffer | 19 | Digs | 23 | C. Cox |
| A. Cooke | 5 | Blocks | 8 | K. Marschall |
Indiana was led on the night by Benson with a match-high 25 kills and adding six blocks. Haverly collected 21 kills and 17 digs. Setter Mary Chaudoin setup 45 assists, and libero Caitlin Cox pulled in a match-high 23 digs while serving up two aces.
Miami was led on offense by Carico’s 26th double-double of the year (16 kills, 14 digs), followed by Williamson and Cooke with 12 kills apiece. Cooke added five assisted blocks, and teammate senior middle blocker Lici McGee (Warr Acres, Ok.) tagged four assisted blocks in her last game in Orange and Green.
Junior setter Katie Gallagher (Winter Park, Fla.) setup 44 assists, and libero Ryan Shaffer (San Jose, Calif.) pulled in 19 digs. Freshman outside hitter Alexandria Johnson (Tallahassee, Fla.) collected 18 digs and four assisted blocks.
Indiana will now face No. 11 seed Tennessee on Saturday at 3 p.m., back inside University Gym. The winner advances to the “Sweet 16” in Dayton, Ohio next weekend.
For information on all other ACC schools in action during the NCAA Tournament, please log on to www.theacc.com.
For more information on the University of Miami volleyball team, please log on to www.hurricanesports.com. Once there, you will find up-to-date news, stats and information regarding the Hurricanes volleyball program.
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