After sweeping the Indiana Invitational on Sept. 4-5, Indiana volleyball will look to continue its five-match win streak this weekend.
The Hoosiers will take on Bowling Green State University, Loyola University Chicago and Stephen F. Austin State University at the Rambler Invitational on Sept. 11-13 at Joseph J. Gentile Arena in Chicago.
For the first time in eighth-year head coach Steve Aird’s tenure, the Hoosiers started their season 5-0. The last time Indiana started its season with five straight wins was in 2017 under Sherry Dunbar-Kruzan, and the Hoosiers finished the season with an overall record of 12-20 and a conference record of 1-19.
Indiana swept Southeast Missouri State University, Northern Kentucy University and Western Michigan University at its home invitational. Following the Hoosiers’ performance, freshmen outside hitter Jaidyn Jager and setter Teodora Kričković were awarded Big Ten weekly honors — Jager was named freshman of the week while Kričković was named setter of the week.
Bowling Green
While Bowling Green currently sits at 2-4 this season, three of its losses came against ranked opponents — then-No. 15 University of Kansas, then-No. 17 Purdue and then-No. 23 Georgia Institute of Technology.
Against Purdue on Sept. 4, Bowling Green went back and forth with the Boilermakers, taking the match to a fifth set where Bowling Green fell 9-15. The Falcons then took Georgia Tech to a fifth set Sept. 5, but after winning the first two games, Georgia Tech completed a reverse sweep.
Although Bowling Green lost all its matches at the Stacey Clark Classic, the Mid-American Conference awarded senior opposite hitter Lauryn Hovey with MAC Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday. Across the Falcons’ three matches at the tournament, Hovey recorded 64 total kills and had a hitting percentage of .338.
Hovey, who is now in her fourth season with the Falcons, won MAC Player of the Year in 2024 after she recorded 59 aces, 449 kills, 101 total blocks and 330 digs throughout the season.
Loyola (Chicago)
Like Bowling Green, Loyola (Chicago) has a record of 2-4 this season. The Ramblers defeated both Drake University and Illinois State University in five sets for their two wins but were swept in three of their losses — Western Kentucky University, Butler University and Iowa.
Indiana will be tasked with slowing down Loyola freshman outside hitter/defensive specialist Leyna Nguyen. Nguyen leads the Ramblers in points and kills, averaging 3.44 points and 3.17 kills per set, respectively. Behind Nguyen, sophomore outside hitter Kaitlyn Burke averages 3.08 points per set and 2.88 kills per set.
Defensively, sophomore libero Sam Falk leads Loyola with 4.42 digs per set while senior middle blocker Ann Marie Remmes leads the team with 1.25 blocks per set.
Stephen F. Austin
After starting its season 4-0, Stephen F. Austin suffered its first loss of the season to Sam Houston State University on Sept. 6 at its home tournament.
Following her performance at the tournament, sophomore pin hitter Katherine Holtman was named Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week. Holtman averaged 3.23 kills, .92 blocks and 4 points per set while hitting .315 over the Ladyjacks’ three weekend matches. Holtman recorded double digit kills in each of Stephen F. Austin’s matches this season.
Graduate student outside hitter Ilana de Assis, who transferred to Stephen F. Austin from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, is the Ladyjacks’ second leading scorer with 3.83 points per set. Junior outside hitter Caroline Kahle has a team-high 3.75 digs per set, while junior middle blocker Kyanna Creecy leads the Ladyjacks with 1.45 blocks per set.
Indiana will open the Rambler Invitational against Bowling Green at 4 p.m. Thursday. The Hosiers will then play Loyola (Chicago) at 6 p.m. Friday and Stephen F. Austin at noon Saturday. Indiana’s match against Loyola (Chicago) will be the only match available to stream on ESPN+.
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
