No. 20 Indiana volleyball racked up a hitting percentage of .368 against Michigan on Friday night, just above the teams’ season average of .314. Two of the Hoosiers’ primary attackers, senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles and freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager, recorded hitting percentages above .300.
The Hoosiers’ attack was nearly unstoppable, and it led Indiana to sweep Michigan in the Wolverines’ home gym at Cliff Keen Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The win was the Hoosiers’ sixth-straight match win and lifted them to 5-0 in Big Ten play, their best conference start since in program history.
While Alonso-Corcelles, Jager and senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum have been the faces of Indiana’s relentless attack this season, freshman setter Teodora Kričković has been the center of the success.
On Friday night, Kričković had a hand in 39 of the Hoosiers’ 50 total kills — a game-high 35 assists with four kills of her own. Kričković also recorded two block assists and eight digs in the contest.
The Novi Sad, Serbia, native’s production against Michigan reflects what she’s been able to do throughout the first half of the Hoosiers’ regular season matches. Her 565 total assists are tied for the fourth most in the Big Ten, while her 10.87 assists per set ranks second in the conference.
Ahead of Friday’s match, Indiana held the third-highest hitting percentage in the Big Ten behind No. 7 Wisconsin and No. 1 Nebraska — proof Kričković’s efforts have set the Hoosiers up for success.
Her performances have also earned Kričković two Big Ten honors this season. Kričković was named Big Ten Setter of the Week on Sept. 8 after the Hoosiers’ sweep of the Indiana Invitational on Sept. 4-5. She was then awarded Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Oct. 6 after the Hoosiers defeated then-No. 17 USC on Oct. 3 and then-No. 24 UCLA on Oct. 4. Over the two matches, Kričković collected 77 total assists.
She’s one of seven freshmen on eighth-year head coach Steve Aird’s young team and is a setter — one of the most vocal leaders on a volleyball team. One of the other most influential positions on the court, in Aird’s opinion, is the libero position, which Indiana has typically had freshman play this season, including Audrey Jackson, Avery Freeman and Hannah Leftridge. Aird analogized the situation with football.
“The setter position with a freshman and libero position with a freshman, it's like having a freshman quarterback and a freshman running back,” Aird said in an interview with the Indiana Daily Student on Sept. 22. “It just takes time.”
While the team’s youth might mean more time is needed for the Hoosiers to gel, it hasn’t been a glaring problem for them so far.
But the second half of Indiana’s schedule is nothing like the first. Ten of the Hoosiers’ first 15 matches were against nonconference opponents, and they suffered just one loss to Western Kentucy University on Sept. 19. While the Hoosiers’ 5-0 start in conference play with two ranked wins is promising, the second half of their schedule contains teams like top-ranked Nebraska, Wisconsin and Minnesota, among others.
Indiana will look to continue to improve its already historic season in another contest against a Michigan school. The Hoosiers take on Michigan State at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan. The contest will air on Big Ten+.
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
