With the score at 14-13 in the fifth set, Indiana volleyball needed one more point to avoid a deuce against Ball State University on Saturday afternoon. Junior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles delivered, wedging the ball in-between two Cardinal defenders.
As the ball sailed to the floor, Ball State players collided in the back row attempting to return the dig, but they came up unsuccessful. The Hoosiers bench immediately cleared, and the team celebrated in the middle of the court, as they became the only undefeated team in the Indiana Invitational.
While the Hoosiers went 3-0 for the second straight year at the invitational, it didn’t come easy. Indiana’s Friday matchups against Chicago State University and the University of Southern Indiana took four and three sets, respectively. Then, the Hoosiers closed out the weekend defeating the Cardinals in five sets.
Alonso-Corcelles and senior outside hitter Mady Saris were unstoppable offensively in both games Friday. Saris gave Chicago State a lot of trouble and led the match with 14 kills, while Alonso-Corcelles was a problem for USI, earning 14 kills as well against the Screaming Eagles.
But in the final five-set marathon game against Ball State, it was junior outside hitter Avry Tatum that kept Indiana alive with a career high 25 kills.
“We came into the game, and we knew that they were a good team,” Tatum said Saturday about the Cardinals. “I felt like we came out with a lot of power on that, and Cam (Haworth) helped me with all of that, so you can give the grace to the passers and the setters.”
Freshman middle blocker Ella Boersema delivered on both ends of the court Friday but excelled defensively, tallying 11 blocks during Friday’s games and added 19 kills throughout the invitational.
A persistent concern this season for the Hoosiers has been their ability to put the ball in play behind the serving line. Despite senior setter Camryn Haworth having one of the toughest serves to defend in the country, she struggled to put the ball in the lines with 11 service errors. Indiana struggled overall with 47 errors and just 18 aces, leading head coach Steve Aird to recognize that urgent changes are needed ahead of conference play.
“It’s like when hoop[er]s misses free throws and then everyone in the country’s saying, ‘Why don’t they practice free throws?’” Aird said postgame Friday. “Part of it is it’s early in the year but it’s something we got to get fixed, and we got to get fixed fast.”
Chicago State stunned Indiana with a seven-player offense that used subtle tips and clever placements to utilize open gaps on the Hoosiers side, leaving Indiana’s defense scrambling and allowing the Cougars to win the first set.
Aird, visibly frustrated, promptly grabbed the box score and retreated to other side of the court after the end of the set. He sat in silence without speaking to anyone while reflecting on the box score and the notes in his folder.
“Whether that was coming off a big weekend against two really, really high-end teams, and they thought, ‘Hey, we can kind of take it easy,’” Aird said. “It doesn’t work that way.”
The Hoosiers adjusted following their mistakes in set one, neutralizing the Cougars' offensive tricks. Indiana went on to win the next three sets, never allowing Chicago State to take the lead in sets three and four.
Against USI, Indiana swept its competition for the second time this season despite a tough second set that went into deuce. Alonso-Corcelles kept the Hoosiers from facing defeat in the set by logging nine kills.
Boersema arguably delivered her best performance so far, capturing nine kills and leading the Hoosiers defense, tracking six blocks. She praised Haworth for not just her success but for the teams.
“It’s more so not just me, Cam was on point tonight with the sets,” Boersema said postgame Friday. “She knew when she messed up, and I knew when I messed up. We worked together really hard to understand, and we came together in the middle, and it was an achievement.”
In the final game, Ball State was Indiana’s toughest challenge of the invitational. The Hoosiers struggled to score as the Cardinals tallied 60 digs, over half of which came from sets three and four.
While the Hoosiers won the first two sets, the Cardinals fought back and won the next two, which featured 10 total service errors from Indiana.
But in the final set, Wilkinson Hall came alive.
“The student section is becoming its own creature,” Aird said postgame Saturday.
Each time the Cardinals served, the Crimson Guard got as close as they could to the server and screamed loudly around the server.
“It’s awesome to see the student section so engaged,” Haworth said. “It gets everybody elevated in the crowd.”
That energy helped Indiana escape the final set 15-13, improving its record to 6-2. Its only losses against University of Texas at Austin and the University of Miami last weekend in Austin, Texas.
Indiana gets a break before heading north for another bout with an in-state rival, facing the University of Notre Dame on Friday, Sep. 20. Then, the Hoosiers host the Fighting Irish two days later at Wilkinson Hall.
Follow reporter Parker Rodgers (@parrod153) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
