After going 1-1 in its pair of games last weekend inside Wilkinson Hall, Indiana volleyball will travel to the east coast for two more weekend matchups.
The Hoosiers will take on Maryland at 7 p.m. Friday in College Park, Maryland, before heading to University Park, Pennsylvania, for a 4 p.m. Sunday matchup with No. 19 Penn State.
Indiana is currently tied with Penn State for fourth place in the Big Ten standings. The Hoosiers boast an overall record of 16-4 and a conference record of 7-3.
The Hoosiers started their season at the top of the conference standings with a 5-0 overall record but have since fallen in the standings with three losses in their last five matches.
Indiana’s offensive production has been key to its success this season, as the Hoosiers are 14-2 when hitting above .250. Indiana’s trio of pin hitters in seniors Avry Tatum and Candela Alonso-Corcelles and freshman Jaidyn Jager have led the offensive efforts all season long.
Alonso-Corcelles leads the team in total number of kills with 243 and has an overall hitting percentage of .273. However, Jager is not far behind with 236 kills and an attacking percentage of .230. Tatum is averaging 3.33 kills per set, 3.80 points per set and has had at least 10 points in 18 of Indiana’s 20 matches this season.
Meet Maryland
Indiana’s first opponent of the weekend sits near the bottom of the conference standings with just one conference win — over Rutgers — and an 8-12 overall record. The Terrapins enter the matchup on a three-game losing streak to Michigan State, No. 22 USC and then- No. 25 UCLA.
While Maryland has not been able to defeat any top ranked opponents, the Terrapins were able to push their match with then-No. 16 Penn State on Oct. 5 to five sets.
Against Penn State, Maryland’s offense was largely led by senior opposite hitter Ajack Malual, who tallied 20 kills in the match. Malual has led the offense all season long, as she leads the Terps with 3.57 kills per set.
So far this season, defense has been a strong part of Maryland’s game. The Terrapins lead the conference in total team blocks this season and are fourth in blocks per set.
Sophomore middle blocker Duru Gökçen and junior middle blocker Eva Rohrbach have been major defensive contributors at the net for Maryland. Gökçen leads the Big Ten with 99 total blocks, while Rohrbach is close behind with 92.
Penn State
Indiana’s second match of the weekend will be against the defending national champions, Penn State. The Nittany Lions enter the matchup on a three-game winning streak with a 13-7 overall record and a 7-3 conference record.
Penn State has faced a highly competitive schedule and has picked up multiple notable wins along the way. The Nittany Lions have victories over No. 12 Creighton, No. 14 Kansas, then-No. 17 USC and then-No. 7 Wisconsin.
Penn State is coached by Katie Schumacher-Cawley, who took over the program in January 2022. Schumacher-Cawley played for Penn State from 1998-2002 and was part of the program's first ever national championship team in 1999. Schumacher-Cawley became the first female coach to win a national championship in Division 1 volleyball after winning the title in 2024.
Over the years, Penn State and Indiana have played 63 times, with Indiana only coming away with a victory once. The Hoosiers last defeated the Nittany Lions in October 2010 in Bloomington. Indiana has never won a road contest at Penn State in program history but will look to change that trend on Sunday.
Friday's matchup will be streamed on Big Ten+ while Sunday's matchup will be broadcast on the 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.
