While Indiana volleyball walked away with nine match wins and just one loss during its nonconference slate, the Hoosiers now face 20-straight matches against Big Ten opponents. Six conference schools are ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association rankings and four others — including Indiana — received votes in the poll.
The Hoosiers will open their stretch of conference games against Northwestern on Wednesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois.
In 2024, at the helm of its first year with head coach Tim Nollan, Northwestern went 5-23. Now, in Nollan’s second season, his squad has already doubled their total wins from last season, as they stand at 10-2 through their nonconference slate.
Northwestern has played one ranked opponent so far this season, falling to No. 20 Baylor University 2-3 on Sept. 4 in Waco, Texas. After Baylor took the first set, Northwestern won the second and third but faltered in the fourth and fifth sets.
Northwestern’s second loss of the season came to the University of St. Thomas - Minnesota on Sept. 18, when the Wildcats were swept by the Summit League opponent at their home invitational. The Wildcats struggled to contain the Tommies’ offensive attack, which had a hitting percentage of .412 with 55 kills and seven aces.
The Wildcats’ attack is led by senior outside hitter Rylen Reid, who has recorded a total of 135 kills for Northwestern this season with a .278 hitting percentage. Behind her, graduate student outside hitter Ayah Elnady averages 2.63 kills per set.
Defensively, first year middle blocker Kayla Kauffman and graduate student middle blocker Bella Simkus lead Northwestern with 1.32 and one block per set, respectively. Junior libero/outside hitter Drew Wright leads the team with 101 digs.
Through the nonconference slate, Northwestern has been at the top of the conference in serving. The Wildcats have the most service aces in the Big Ten and rank third in service aces per set with 2.04 — behind Rutgers and Michigan State, who have recorded 2.21 and 2.19 service aces per set, respectively. Reid has a team-high 18 service aces, while Wright and Elnady each have 17 service aces.
While serving has been a bright spot for Northwestern, Indiana has also found success at the service line.
Just behind the Wildcats in service aces per set in the Big Ten sit the Hoosiers with an average of 1.88 service aces per set. Freshman setter Teordora Kričković and freshman defensive specialist Avery Freeman have already recorded double digit service aces this season with 16 and 11, respectively.
After Indiana’s win over Western Michigan University on Sept. 5, eighth-year head coach Steve Aird said he thinks his squad has the potential to be a one of the top serving teams, but he didn’t know if the Hoosiers were there yet. While Aird highlighted the value of serving, he also said Indiana has other areas of its game it can lean on.
Ahead of conference play, Indiana leads the Big Ten with a .338 hitting percentage, just above No. 7 Wisconsin who has a hitting percentage of .325. The high hitting rate has been led by the trio of senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles, senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum and freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager. The three hitters each average over three kills per set. Tatum leads the attack with a hitting percentage of .436, while Alonso-Corcelles and Jager have hitting percentages of .345 and .266, respectively.
Indiana’s efficient offense is in large part thanks to Kričković. The Novi Sad, Serbia, native is seventh in the conference in assists with 375, setting up Indiana’s attackers for success.
With its record of 9-1, Indiana is off to its best start under Aird. The Hoosiers’ one loss came against Western Kentucky University on Sept. 19, but they came back with a victory over Bradley University to end nonconference play.
The Hoosiers’ first Big Ten match of the season is slated to start at 9 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
