As Indiana volleyball sat tied with Washington at 23 points each, it needed a burst to close out the third set of the night and its second Big Ten win of the season.
It was a position the Hoosiers had been in for much of the match Saturday. In the previous two sets, Indiana and Washington traded points and runs back and forth. But — whether it was back-to-back points from freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager or errors from the Huskies — the Hoosiers found a way to close both sets.
Indiana ultimately got its match-closing moment. This time, it was sophomore middle blocker Ella Boersema who rose to the occasion. After a kill from senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum gave the Hoosiers a 1-point advantage and set up the match point, Boersema recorded her fourth block of the night, closing Indiana’s sweep Saturday at Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington.
Boersema attributed Indiana’s ability to close the tight sets to taking charge when the volleyball comes to one of the Hoosiers. It was the mindset of “every ball is your ball,” she said postgame.
It’s just the attitude she embodied Saturday night.
Boersema’s four blocks were accompanied by nine kills and a team-high hitting percentage of .444. She accounted for 11.5 of the Hoosiers’ points against the Huskies, which marked her second-highest point-total of the season.
But what Indiana head coach Steve Aird liked the most about the sophomore’s contributions to the Hoosiers on Saturday was Boersema’s bravery and confidence against the Huskies.
“Ella’s a really strong kid, physically,” Aird said. “And she’s not afraid, like, she’ll make plays. She beats herself up a lot because she expects her to play great all the time, which I appreciate, but she’s still a puppy. I mean she didn’t play a ton last year.”
Boersema is coming off her freshman year in which she played just 14 of 30 matches and made 11 starts for the Hoosiers. Her time on the court was limited due to an injury, which also impacted her availability at the beginning of this season, Aird said.
The Churubusco, Indiana, native didn’t play in the Hoosiers first match of the season against the University of Miami on Aug. 29. She then made her first start against Southeast Missouri State University on Sept. 4 in place of senior middle blocker Madi Sell.
Aird said Boersema has stepped into the starting role with the Hoosiers’ middle blockers Sell and junior Ava Vickers dealing with injuries. Freshman Victoria Gray has also helped fill in for the middle blockers.
While not having his starters isn’t ideal, Aird said he was excited by Boersema and Gray’s improved play in that position’s depth once the others are healthy enough to play.
In her increased role, blocking has been Boersema’s focal point for improvement. She’s adopted a more aggressive mindset when it comes to blocking and understands that when she’s better it opens more opportunities for her teammates.
And her work has paid off. Even without starting two matches, Boersema leads the Hoosiers with 45 blocks and her 1.5 blocks per set ranks first in the Big Ten.
While those stats jump off the page, she continues to create big moments for the Hoosiers — like her match winning block Saturday night.
“We don’t win tonight without Ella,” Aird said. “And I thought she did some awesome stuff and stayed brave and physical. And then obviously closed out the match with the great move, which hopefully makes her feel pretty good.”
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
