No. 20 Indiana volleyball has been able to lean on its offensive attack throughout much of its season. The trio of pin hitters — seniors Candela Alonso-Corcelles and Avry Tatum and freshman Jaidyn Jager — each held hitting percentages above .250 and double-digit kills per match ahead of the Hoosiers’ contest against Michigan State.
Even in tough road environments against USC on Oct. 3, UCLA on Oct. 4 and even Michigan on Friday, Indiana’s offense has shined. A hitting percentage of .314 — which ranked third in the Big Ten behind No. 1 Nebraska and No. 7 Wisconsin — and an average of 48.33 kills per match ahead of Sunday’s contest was proof of that.
However, Sunday afternoon against the Spartans was a different story for the Hoosiers as they suffered a 3-0 loss to Michigan State at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan. It marked Indiana’s first conference loss of the season, dropping its record to 14-2 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten.
Indiana’s offense started slowly in each of the three sets. Errors from Indiana allowed the Spartans to take early leads, but even as the Hoosiers tried to create momentum of their own, they were stopped by Spartan blockers.
The defensive and offensive efforts by Michigan State, which put Indiana in uncomfortable positions to create more errors, gave way for the Hoosiers’ hitting percentage of .067. Of Indiana’s three primary attackers, Tatum was the only one with a positive hitting percentage. Alonso-Corcelles and Jager recorded hitting percentages of .000 and -.100, respectively.
The blocks held the trio to under 10 kills each. Tatum had eight kills, Jager had seven and Alonso-Corcelles finished with six.
Junior middle blocker Zuzanna Kulig led Michigan State in blocking with four total blocks. Freshman outside hitter Bianca Mumcular and sophomore middle blocker Breccan Scheck added three each for the Spartans.
Not only did the Spartans have an answer for the Hoosiers’ offense, but they also created a powerful offensive attack of their own that started early in the match.
In the first rally of the first set, Indiana threw off Michigan State’s rhythm with powerful attacks that turned into wayward passes from the Spartans. But with each wayward pass, Michigan State was able to control the next to set up its attackers. The rally ended with a decisive kill from Michigan State’s Mumcular, which Tatum and freshman middle blocker Victoria Gray were unable to defend.
The Hoosiers’ inability to defend the Spartans’ attack or create offensive success of their own caused eighth-year head coach Steve Aird and his staff to switch up Indiana’s lineup on the floor. He opted to put freshman outside hitter Charlotte Vinson, sophomore opposite hitter Avery Daum and sophomore setter Sade Ilawole on the floor in hopes to change momentum late in the third set. Each of those players have seen very limited time on the court this year for Indiana.
The attempt failed, as the Hoosiers were unable to close the gap between themselves and the Spartans.
Mumcular continued her offensive success throughout the match, along with Kulig. The duo combined for 19 of the Spartans’ points, as Mumcular had eight kills and Kulig had seven.
Kulig said postgame on the Big Ten+ broadcast that first-year head coach Kristen Kelsay emphasized blocking leading up to the contest against Indiana.
“And we executed the game plan really well, so I’m really proud of this team,” Kulig said. “I think the block, as coach said previously, was the thing that we’ve been working on, and you guys all could see that today.”
And the preparation showed, as Michigan State had an answer for each of the efforts Indiana attempted to make Sunday afternoon.
The Spartans’ efficient attack and blocking efforts — along with uncharacteristic mistakes from the Hoosiers — gave Michigan State a sweep over Indiana, the Spartans’ first sweep of a ranked opponent in 2,872 days, according to the Big Ten+ broadcast.
Part of Indiana’s success so far this season has been from not letting the road environment affect it. It has stayed poised and aggressive, despite not being in its home gym in Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington. The Hoosiers will need to return to that mentality with a match against No. 12 Purdue at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis up next on its schedule and an ensuing slew of tough road matches. That will be the key to Indiana continuing its historic season, or letting matches like Sunday against Michigan State stack up.
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
