Indiana volleyball traveled to Evanston, Illinois, mid-week to open conference play against Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Despite at times uncharacteristic play, the Hoosiers found a way to defeat the Wildcats 3-1 to open conference play with a 1-0 record.
Now back in Bloomington, the Hoosiers will look to improve their conference record to 2-0, as they face Washington at 7 p.m. Saturday in Wilkinson Hall for the Hoosiers’ annual “red out” game. The last time Indiana started conference play 2-0 was in 2003 under head coach Katie Weismiller but ended the season with a 5-15 Big Ten record.
The matchup between the Hoosiers and Huskies will be just the third meeting of all time and the first matchup between the two programs in Bloomington. Washington holds a 2-0 record over Indiana, sweeping the Hoosiers in September of 2023 and 2024.
Washington enters the matchup on a two-game losing streak and an overall record of 5-6. The Huskies started off conference play with a loss to No. 10 Purdue on Thursday in West Lafayette. Washington has struggled so far this season on the road, tallying only two wins and four losses away from Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle.
While Washington’s record may not be ideal entering conference play, the Huskies have been battle-tested this season and have already played multiple ranked opponents. The Huskies took a set in a close game with then-No. 11 Southern Methodist University. They also had to face then-No. 6 University of Kentucky and No. 10 Purdue in back-to-back games.
In the offseason, the Huskies underwent many roster changes as they lost multiple key players, including junior outside hitter Emoni Bush, senior libero Lauren Bays and senior setter Molly Wilson.
This season, the Huskies’ offense is led by their pin hitters in junior Kierstyn Barton, senior Alexa Markley and freshman Simona Mateska. Each are averaging 3.88, 3.43 and 2.34 kills per set, respectively. Senior setter Alexis Haury contributes to the offense as well with an average of 9.81 assists per set.
Mateska will be a familiar face on the court to Indiana’s freshman setter Teodora Kričkovic. The two were Serbian teammates and played together at this summer’s CEV U22 European Championship Qualifying and the 2023 FIVB U19 World Championships.
Kričković is seventh in the NCAA in assists per set and leads all freshmen, averaging a total of 11.11 per set. So far this season, the freshman setter has tallied 422 total assists and contributes to Indiana’s overall season average hitting percentage of .332.
The Huskies will be seeking their first conference win of the season and will be looking to rebound from back-to-back losses. However, a win for the Hoosiers could create the momentum they need heading into the rest of conference play.
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
