With the chance to continue its perfect record this season, Indiana volleyball looked to Loyola University Chicago in its second match of the Rambler Invitational to keep its streak alive.
While Indiana didn’t sweep Loyola (Chicago) like it did its last five opponents, the Hoosiers pulled out a 3-1 victory over the Ramblers on Friday at Joseph J. Gentile Arena in Chicago and moved to 7-0 on their season.
Three Hoosiers recorded double-digit kills — senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles recorded a match-high 17 kills, while senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum and freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager had 15 and 13 kills, respectively. As a team, Indiana had a hitting percentage of .338.
Defensively, freshman defensive specialist Audrey Jackson had a game-high 14 digs, which tied her match-high this season. Senior middle blocker Madi Sell recorded six blocks, while Tatum recorded four.
Although Indiana took the first point of the game with a service ace from freshman setter Teodora Kričković, the Hoosiers were plagued by errors — especially service errors — early in the first set.
Three of the Ramblers' first 5 points came off a Hoosier service error, including a service error from Tatum that tied the set at four, which Loyola (Chicago) used to take the lead on the next point.
Loyola (Chicago) continued to take advantage of Indiana’s errors, but the Hoosiers found their rhythm after a kill from Tatum to put the set at 8-9. The kill sparked an 11-0 run for Indiana, which gave it a 9-point advantage over Loyola (Chicago), which they rode to the end of the set to win 25-15.
Indiana started the started the second set 5-0, forcing Loyola (Chicago) head coach Amanda Berkley to take a timeout. The Hoosiers continued their hot streak to create an 11-2 advantage but allowed the Ramblers to go on a 5-0 run following another Loyola (Chicago) timeout.
While Indiana had a large lead in the early moments of the second set, Loyola (Chicago) didn’t stop fighting and eventually pulled within 1 point. However, the Hoosiers then went on a 3-0 run to extend their lead and continued to do so until the end of the set. A kill from Sell, assisted by Kričković, gave Indiana the final point of the set and the Hoosiers won 25-19.
The Hoosiers got off to a slow start in the third set and allowed the Ramblers to take a 13-8 lead. The set was tied at 8 before Loyola (Chicago) went on a 5-0 run which included three errors from Indiana — two attack errors from Jager and one from Alonso-Corcelles.
Eighth-year head coach Steve Aird used his second timeout of the set after Loyola (Chicago) extended its lead to 17-11 with a service ace from Loyola senior middle blocker Ann Marie Remmes. The Ramblers held onto their lead through the rest of the set and the Hoosiers lost 19-25.
The set loss marked the end of Indiana’s 20 straight set wins, with its last set loss coming against the University of Miami on Aug. 29 in Coral Gables, Florida.
After the set loss, Indiana started the fourth set 4-0 and never gave up its lead. It continued to go on mini runs throughout the set to keep extending its lead. Jager recorded back-to-back kills late in the game for the set point and put the score at 24-15. While the Ramblers took the next point, a kill from Tatum, assisted by Kričković, gave Indiana the set win and the Hoosiers won the match 3-1.
Indiana will face Stephen F. Austin State University in the final round of the Rambler Invitational as one of its final non-conference matches of the season. The contest is set to start at noon Saturday 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.
