Indiana volleyball played Southeast Missouri State University close each set. But with the end of the third set approaching, the Hoosiers needed to find a spark if they wanted to sweep the Redhawks.
Freshman middle blocker Victoria Gray had just gotten a kill to give Indiana a 15-14 lead over Southeast Missouri State when the whistle blew for a media time out.
And that’s when something switched.
The Hoosiers exited the timeout and were relentless offensively. The Cream and Crimson went on a 10-4 run to close the set, led by freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager, who scored five of Indiana’s final 10 points.
The Hoosiers ultimately swept the Redhawks on Thursday at Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington but were forced to overcome sluggish starts in each set. Jager recorded a game-high 20 kills, followed by senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles who had 14 kills.
And even though Indiana left Wilkinson Hall with a win — eighth-year head coach Steve Aird’s 100th for the Hoosiers — Aird wasn’t satisfied with his team’s performance, especially the slow starts.
“I didn't like how we started any of the games,” Aird said after Thursday’s match. “We kind of ground through, it felt like till 14 or 15 (points) in each of the games, and then kind of hit a different gear, so that was good.”
Indiana found its stride in each set in different ways. In the first game, Indiana was able to take advantage of Southeast Missouri State's errors, while making scoring a team effort; five different Hoosiers scored points during the final stretch of the set. During the second set, veterans Alonso-Corcelles and senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum sparked a run for Indiana. And in the third game, a timeout helped flip the switch for Indiana.
And the sluggish starts didn’t just impact the Hoosiers against the Redhawks but have affected each of their matches so far this season. On Aug. 29 against the University of Miami, Indiana dropped two sets to the Hurricanes before completing a reverse sweep to record its first win of the season.
Indiana also played a close match to Virginia Commonwealth University on Aug. 30. During the match, the Hoosiers remained tied with VCU or kept a close score until the end of each set, when they went on a run to win the game.
Jager said the slow starts can be resolved for the Hoosiers through more practice and repetitions together on the court.
“I think we’re starting to learn how to step on the gas a little bit more,” Jager said. “It has been coming like a little bit later, but I think with a few more practices we’ll be fine.”
But even with the slow starts and a disappointing feeling after the match, Aird isn’t worried about whether or not his team can speed up their process. He emphasized the fact that Indiana is starting four freshmen — Jager, Gray, setter Teodora Kričković and libero Audrey Jackson — and they are going to make “young” mistakes, especially early in the season.
“It’s so early in the year,” Aird said. “I’m still trying to figure out what we can do and what we’re going to be able to do because in my mind I know how tough the conference is, the teams we’re going to be competing against. So, I think it’s good, handling our business, but you know, the team, I don’t think was happy. I wasn't real happy. The staff was kind of meh and I think we’ll be better tomorrow.”
And now, just 15 hours after the start of its match against Southeast Missouri State, Indiana will take on Northern Kentucky University at 10 a.m. Friday at Wilkinson Hall. Even with the short turnaround, the Hoosiers expect themselves to win.
“It feels good because like that’s almost our expectation is to win,” Boersema said on winning the home opener. “Like one of our things is like we in every home match. Like, it's our home court, we have to dominate on home court.”
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
