After two weeks on the road and a 1-3 record in its road series, Indiana volleyball returned to Bloomington on Friday for a match against Rutgers. Indiana looked for the season sweep after taking the first match on the road in four sets on November 3 and was able to do so, winning the match in Bloomington in three sets.
Indiana has struggled in the way it starts matches all season, and tonight was no different with three hitting errors in the first 10 points of the first set. Graduate student middle blocker Kaley Rammelsberg helped fire up the Indiana offense with a solo block right up the middle followed by a successful slide kill tying the match up seven all.
Indiana continued to battle back after going down early, as a kill from sophomore outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles gave the Hoosiers the lead 20-19 and prompted a timeout from the Scarlet Knights. After Rutgers successfully saved two set points, a kill from Rammelsberg sealed the opening set victory 25-22 for Indiana.
Alonso-Corcelles and Rammelsberg led Indiana with six and five kills, respectively. The Hoosiers hit .270 as a team with 16 kills and six errors, while Rutgers had 10 kills on five errors.
The second set opened with both teams trading kills and errors before being knotted up at eight. Indiana continued to pressure the serve-receive of Rutgers with tough serving as junior setter Camryn Haworth extended Indiana’s lead to 20-16 at the service line. A few points later, two blocks from Rammelsberg led Indiana to the set win 25-19.
Alonso-Corcelles with two kills and Rammelsberg with three continued to pace the offense through the second set. Indiana had 12 kills, hitting .286, and Rutgers had eight kills, hitting -0.037, in the second set.
Indiana continued the momentum from the second set by jumping out to a quick 7-3 lead in the third. The Scarlet Knights struggled to find an offensive rhythm early and later trailed 13-6. The Hoosiers’ offense continued to fire smoothly in the third set and took it 25-14, sweeping the match.
Offensively, the third set was the best for the Hoosiers, who hit .652 with 15 kills and no errors. Indiana finished with 13 total team blocks, led by Rammelsberg with six. Sophomore opposite Avry Tatum finished with nine kills, hitting .538, while Alonso-Corcelles led the team with 11 kills.
Indiana hosts Minnesota on Sunday. The match begins at 1 p.m. on Big Ten+.
Follow reporter Michael Livingston (@mblivingston_) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
