Indiana volleyball completed the night 3 –1 in its second conference home game of the season against No. 6 Ohio State on Saturday in Wilkison Hall.
The Buckeyes played up to their ranking and forced the Hoosiers to adjust their line–up mid-match. All of the players on Indiana’s team who dressed had minutes in the match.
Early in the first set, the Hoosiers were able to tighten the lead to 8-7 with a kill from freshman outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles followed by a service ace from senior defensive specialist Paula Cerame. The Buckeyes responded with an 8-2 run, highlighted by two kills from senior outside hitter Gabby Gonzales and claimed the first set 25-15.
[Related: Indiana volleyball returns home, defeats Iowa 3-0 in dominant fashion]
With back-to-back kills from Gonzales, Ohio State started the second set on a 4-0 run. Kills from junior middle blocker Savannah Kjolhede and sophomore setter Camryn Haworth inched Indiana back into the game 8-3. Subsequently on an Ohio State run, sophomore outside hitter Maddy Saris dispatched consecutive kills to end the run and compress the lead to 14-6.
Despite a pair of kills by Indiana redshirt outside hitter Ashley Zulauf, the Buckeyes earned the second frame 25-13.
For the first time in the third set, Indiana took the lead 14-13 with the help of kills from Kjolhede, Alonso Corcelles and junior outside hitter Grae Gosnell. Senior defensive specialist Haley Armstrong made her first appearance on the court this season and forced the Buckeyes into a pair of errors off the serve, granting the Hoosiers a 22-19 lead.
Trailing behind, Ohio State took a timeout, but Indiana stayed diligent after the huddle. Haworth ended the third set with a service ace and a 25-23 win to cut the Ohio State lead to 2-1.
Despite the hard-fought third set win, Indiana was unable to win a second set. The Hoosiers kept the fourth close with a 3-0 run guided by pair of attacks from Saris to close the gap to 21-18 and force an Ohio State timeout.
Ohio State won the fourth set 25-21 to close out the match 3-1. With the loss, the Hoosiers drop to 9-7 overall.
Indiana will return to Wilkinson Hall at 8 p.m. Oct. 8 to face reigning national champions Wisconsin. The match will be broadcast live on BTN.
