The Hoosiers rebounded from a 3-1 loss against Bowling Green early Saturday by topping Georgia Tech in the evening match 3-1, claiming the Indiana Invitational title in the process.
“Fight.” The first word of Head Coach Sherry Dunbar’s post-match interview says it all about Indiana’s evening volleyball match against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Hoosiers took the match, and thereby the tournament, in dramatic fashion on Saturday night by coming from behind in three out of four sets, being down by seven at one point in the fourth.
The first two sets ended in scores of 29-27 and 27-25, both victories for The Hoosiers. The third set ended 25-22 in Georgia Tech’s favor, and though the Yellow Jackets led by as much as 15-8 in the fourth set, Indiana proved their fortitude yet again by rallying to win it 25-23.
“It’s become the identity of the team,” Dunbar said, referring to the team’s resilience. Dunbar attributed the Hoosiers’ unbreakable will to two imperative factors: offseason training, and simply, “believing.”
The Hoosiers also boast all-tournament honors for Jordan Haverly, who returned from last season’s ACL injury to lead the Hoosiers with 19 kills (53 total for the tournament). Also named to the all-tournament team was Samantha Thrower who contributed six blocks against Georgia Tech (19 total for the tournament).
Meanwhile, Indiana’s Caitlin Hansen received tournament MVP honors for her 49 total digs, including a career-high 19 in the final match against Georgia Tech.
Georgia Tech’s Monique Mead led the Yellow Jackets with 20 kills and also came away with all-tournament honors.
Both Indiana and Georgia Tech will leave the tournament with their first losses of the season, as Indiana finishes the day at 5-1 and Georgia Tech falls to 4-1.
The Hoosiers will head to Indianapolis for their next action, facing Stephen F. Austin in the Butler Invitational on Friday, September 7th; opponents Western Illinois and Butler will follow on Saturday.
