After bringing in the No. 14 ranked class in the country — the highest ranked recruiting class in Indiana volleyball program history — the Hoosiers got off to their best season start in the eight-year head coach Steve Aird era.
The Hoosiers advanced to 5-0 overall and claimed their 15th straight set win after a 3-0 performance in the Indiana Invitational on Thursday and Friday at Wilkinson Hall.
In the invitational, Indiana defeated Southeast Missouri State University, Northern Kentucky University and Western Michigan University behind freshman impact on all areas of the court.
In the first game of the tournament against Southeast Missouri State on Thursday, freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager exploded for 20 kills and a .515 hitting percentage to go along with seven digs and a block. Jager’s 20-kill performance led the team and became the first 20-kill game by any freshman since outside hitter Tommi Stockham in 2021.
Jager continued to play well throughout the remainder of the tournament, tallying 12 kills and two blocks in Friday morning's match against Northern Kentucky, with an additional seven kills, nine digs and two aces in the Hoosiers’ contest with Western Michigan Friday evening.
Jager was named on the Indiana Invitational All-Tournament team alongside senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum in recognition of her standout performances. Senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles was also recognized for her strong performances throughout the invitational and was named the tournament MVP.
In addition to Jager’s performances, many of the other freshmen on the roster contributed in major ways throughout the invitational.
Freshman setter Teodora Kričković combined for 113 assists across three matches played and tallied five kills, five aces and five blocks. Kričković’s consistent performances helped the Hoosiers achieve a team hitting percentage of .401.
Tatum attributed her success in Friday night’s match to her connection with Kričković when she recorded 15 kills against Western Michigan.
“I can’t thank ‘T’ (Kričković) enough,” Tatum said. “She’s just really put me in really good positions where I could be where I’m at, so I’m really happy to have her right now.”
Defensive specialist Avery Freeman also got in on the action in the tournament, contributing seven total aces across three games of work. Freeman tallied four service aces in Indiana’s matchup with Western Michigan, contributing to the Hoosiers’ overall ace total of 11 in the Friday evening matchup.
Freshman defensive specialist Audrey Jackson helped the Hoosiers on the back line, contributing 14 digs against Western Michigan and 10 digs against Southeast Missouri State.
Lastly, freshman middle blocker Victoria Gray combined for a total of 10 kills and nine blocks across three games played.
Gray’s nine block performance was nothing short of impressive. However, the talented freshman knows she can achieve more and isn’t solely focused on herself.
“I think I can do better,” Gray said. “Obviously, I’m a freshman, but I mean I want to just work every single day, and I want to do it for my team and I want to do it for everybody else.”
The maturity shown by the freshman middle blocker postgame Friday showed why Indiana is performing like a veteran squad while four freshmen are starting each game.
“We’ve got really talented young players that are going to play,” Aird said. “At times they'll be a little young and sometimes they'll be awesome.”
The Hoosiers will look to add to their five-match win streak at the Rambler Invitational on Sept. 11-13 at Joseph J. Gentile Arena in Chicago.
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
