Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 INDIANA, Pa- Heading into the season with a new head coach, and picked to be the fourth spot in the PSAC West, the Crimson Hawks put on an incredibly strong performance beating East Stroudsburg (3-1) and Jefferson (3-1) at the ESU tournament this weekend. 

East Stroudsburg was returning off of a 18-11 record, and picked to be the one spot in the PSAC East after making a trip to the NCAA Atlantic Regionals in 2021. Jefferson was coming off of a 26-5 record, and picked to be the one spot in the CACC South Division after making an appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament in 2021. 

Facing East Stroudsburg, Caroline Walsh had an outstanding performance leading the team in kills (13) hitting .345 and blocks (3). Leah Henderson stuffed the stat sheet as well with a match high assist count (42) and a few aces (3). Bailey Flowerdew showed off her defensive skills this game with a match high dig count (18). 

Taking a glance at the Jefferson match, Lauren Valentic competed at the net heavily bringing in shocking block numbers (7) and hitting .462 with 7 kills. Brooke Little stamped her name into many stat highlights this match with 10 kills, 5 aces, and 10 digs. Nicole Peterson showed out on offense against Jefferson knocking down match high kills (14). Caroline Walsh shines bright in yet another match in the day with 12 kills and hitting .348. Leah Henderson came up with majority of assists this game as well (42) and played tremendous defense with 11 digs. 

The energy that this team and new coaching staff emits has been radiating throughout campus all of preseason. After starting the season undefeated, here is what the coaches and Leah Henderson (senior leader) have to say: 

Lorelle Hoyer (Head Coach)- "It was fun to start the season competing against two very good teams. I expect both Jefferson and East Stroudsburg to have successful seasons. For us, it was a great starting point. We still have a lot to work on, however playing eight sets within five hours is no easy task and our athletes found a way to grit it out. You can't teach that. Moving forward we are excited to get back in the gym, clean up some things, and get ready to compete again next weekend in West Virginia". 

Pete Hoyer (Assistance Coach)- "Our success this weekend was a product of the total team effort we have focused on since we began practices three weeks ago. These matches were the first steps in a long journey. The challenge will be to continue to improve throughout the season and keep our team first mentality". 

Leah Henderson (Senior Leader)- "We are really excited about starting off our season 2-0. It is always such a great feeling getting those couple of wins right off the bat to be able to have confidence going into the next week. The energy and excitement the team has right now is indescribable and we know we have something really special going here. We still have a lot to work on and improve upon but we are motivated more now than ever to keep the streak going". 

UP NEXT
IUP carries the momentum into the Concord Classic in Athens, WV this upcoming weekend. The Crimson Hawks will be facing Salem and Concord on Friday, and West Georgia and Bluefield State on Saturday. 

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