With Indiana volleyball leading 24-22 in set one, No. 3 Penn State came out of its final timeout hoping for a miracle to push set one to deuce.
However, the Hoosier faithful in Wilkinson Hall rose to their feet, and as junior middle blocker Madi Sell went up for the block, the ball grazed her left arm and dropped back onto the Nittany Lions' side. Unable to return it, the Hoosiers took the first set.
Though fans erupted in celebration, it wound up being the only set Indiana claimed, as Penn State took the next three sets and gave the Hoosiers their first loss at home Sunday afternoon.
Despite the 3-1 loss, Indiana senior setter Camryn Haworth was proud of her team’s performance.
“I think that today finally felt like Indiana volleyball,” Haworth said. “It’s what we feel like we practice a lot, and it finally just showed up today in a game.”
Each match was close throughout the four sets. The third set went into deuce with Penn State winning 32-30, and in the other sets, the largest margin of victory was three points.
“I’m not disappointed we lost the match,” head coach Steve Aird said. “I’m disappointed we had windows where if we were a little bit more clutch, we might end up winning the match.”
Aird utilized both of his challenges in the second set on balls ruled out by the refs, but Aird’s challenges failed.
“For me if you go up 2-0, now there’s real pressure on (Penn State) and you get three chances to win the match,” Aird said.
Penn State’s offense was fast-paced the entire match as three players recorded double-digit kills. Despite Indiana’s efforts, which included 60 digs and 13 blocks, graduate student outside hitter Jess Mruzik led the Nittany Lions with 21 kills –– 13 of them coming in the last two sets.
“She’s a pro,” Aird said. “When it got tight, she made plays, and we weren’t able to hang in there.”
However, after the marathon third set, the Hoosiers came back swinging in the fourth, leading 17-12 at one point. The Nittany Lions made a 5-0 run to tie the game and escape the fourth set with a 25-22 victory to defeat the Hoosiers 3-1.
“You play a top five team, a lot of times you get spanked pretty good, (the) match is over quick and there’s no fight,” Aird said. “I was really proud of the fight, especially after game three, losing that close game and coming back out and throwing punches again. Pretty proud of us for that.”
Indiana is back on the road for its next match, taking on Illinois at 7 p.m. Wednesday inside Huff Hall in Champaign, Illinois.
Follow reporter Parker Rodgers (@parrod153) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
