Volleyball is a game of runs. Sometimes, teams find a spark and rattle off points one after another. If a team doesn’t respond, it’s in trouble and at risk of letting the opponents’ score cascade into an insurmountable lead.
That is the position Indiana volleyball was in against Northwestern on Wednesday — at risk and in need of a response. After winning the first set, the Hoosiers started the second by allowing the Wildcats to separate early and hold a 4-point lead.
But when Indiana needed an attack, it got the opposite. As Wildcat senior setter Lauren Carter sent the volleyball across the net from the service line, graduate student outside hitter Jessica Smith was there to receive it. The ball bounded off Smith’s arms to a space between senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles and freshman defensive specialist Audrey Jackson. As the it was in the air, freshman setter Teodora Kričković rushed toward the ball set to land between Alonso-Corcelles and Jackson.
But instead of the ball being passed to another Hoosier or hit over the net, it fell to the ground and the three players stared at each other as Northwestern took a 10-5 set lead.
The miscommunication — or lack thereof — was just one of the many miscues Indiana faced in its eventual 3-1 victory over Northwestern in its first Big Ten game of the season Wednesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois.
While Indiana won the first set of the match against Northwestern, the second set proved to be a different story. Not only did miscommunications continue, but errors piled up, and Indiana ultimately lost the set 16-25.
In the second set, sophomore middle blocker Ella Boersema reached over the net and hit the ball while it was still in play for Northwestern. Then, in the third set, Kričković set the ball to Alonso-Corcelles, but it went completely over her head, resulting in Alonso-Corcelles being unable to hit the ball.
Even though the mistakes continued through the match, the Hoosiers found a way to combat them — unlike in the second set — to take the third and fourth games and win the match.
The Hoosiers are off to their best start to a season since eighth-year head coach Steve Aird arrived at Indiana ahead of the 2018 season. Indiana finished nonconference play with nine wins and just one loss — to Western Kentucky University on Sept. 19. Before Wednesday’s contest, Indiana ranked second in the NCAA with a .338 hitting percentage — just behind the University of Tennessee which had a .343 hitting percentage.
But that was through 10 nonconference games, and Wednesday marked the start of Big Ten play. The start of a 20-match gauntlet, especially in the Big Ten. The conference contains six ranked teams and four teams receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.
Throughout the early part of the season, Aird has stressed the fact that Indiana is a young team full of freshmen. That adds another element to the miscommunications on the court.
“The kids were alright, and sometimes they’ll do some things that are awesome...” Aird said after the Hoosiers win over Southeast Missouri State University on Sept. 4. “Sometimes they’ll do some stuff that is young.”
At times, the Hoosiers will have up to five freshmen on the court at the same time. Not only are these players learning how to play together for the first time, but they are also learning how to play collegiate volleyball for the first time.
The Hoosiers will host Washington — which sits at 5-5 ahead of its Thursday contest against No. 10 Purdue — on Saturday in Bloomington. It will be the Hoosiers' final chance to work out the simple details on the court together before taking on some of the top teams in the Big Ten. Indiana will travel to Los Angeles to take on No. 17 USC on Oct. 3 and UCLA, which was the first team out of the AVCA top 25 rankings, on Oct. 4.
Mistakes are inevitable, especially as conference play ramps up. But if the small errors, like Wednesday night’s, stack up, it will be hard for the Hoosiers to win Big Ten games down the road.
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
