After falling on the road in a close five-set match to Illinois on Oct. 25, Indiana traveled north to Northwestern for a Sunday matinee match. Indiana entered the match sitting in a three-way tie with Illinois and Minnesota at 6-5 in Big Ten Play while Northwestern entered at 4-7 in conference play after dropping its last three matches.
The first set was tightly contested with Northwestern winning 25-23. Indiana struggled limiting its attacking miscues with eight errors and 19 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles led Indiana with seven kills in the opening set followed by junior setter Camryn Haworth with four.
A marathon second set ensued with Indiana taking it 34-32. Haworth led the Hoosiers through the set with a pair of service aces and kills. Northwestern had 22 digs compared to Indiana’s 21 in the second set. Both teams struggled to close the set, resulting in a back-and-forth extra point set won by an Indiana block off a Northwestern attacking error.
Indiana’s offense helped control the third set for the Hoosiers, hitting .382 with only three attacking errors. Alonso-Corcelles led the offense with four kills followed by senior middle blocker Savannah Kjolhede and graduate student middle blocker Kaley Rammelsberg with three a piece. Northwestern struggled offensively, ending with 15 kills and seven errors in the third set. Indiana took the third set 25-21, going up 2-1.
After falling down 18-13 in the fourth set, a timeout from Indiana sparked a run to tie the set at 19. The Hoosiers were unable to capitalize on their attacks, dropping the fourth set 25-22. Indiana struggled to capitalize offensively ending with eight kills and seven errors hitting only .033.
The decisive fifth set opened with a quick 3-0 run from Indiana before Northwestern was able to fire back and ultimately controlling the set, winning 15-10. Northwestern hit .444 with nine kills and one error in the fifth, while Indiana hit .238 with eight kills and three errors.
After Haworth recorded her second career triple-double at Illinois, she became the first player in Power Five Conferences to record a back-to-back triple double this season. Haworth ended the match with 50 assists, 10 digs, 10 kills and five service aces. Alonso-Corcelles led the Hoosiers’ attacking with 16 kills on 46 swings.
After falling in back-to-back matches on the road, the Hoosiers will travel to Piscataway, New Jersey, to face off against Rutgers at 7 p.m. Friday.
Follow reporter Michael Livingston (.@mblivingston_) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
