With its two conference wins over Northwestern on Sept. 24 and Washington on Sept. 27, Indiana volleyball got off to its best start in the Big Ten since 2003.
Twenty-two years ago, the Hoosiers opened conference play with wins over Minnesota and Iowa under former head coach Katie Weismiller. But after the 2-0 Big Ten start, Weismiller and her team only won three more conference matches to finish the season with a Big Ten record of 5-15.
Eighth year head coach Steve Aird and the 2025 Hoosiers will look to keep their win streak alive — unlike the 2003 squad — this weekend in Los Angeles, but it won’t be an easy task. Indiana will take on No. 17 USC on Friday and turn around and play No. 24 UCLA on Saturday.
Indiana owns an 11-1 overall record to begin its season. While the Hoosiers have two veteran leaders in senior pin hitters Candela Alonso-Corcelles and Avry Tatum, Indiana is predominantly comprised of freshman. Alonso-Corcelles and Tatum lead the team in attacking with 3.66 and 3.46 kills per set, respectively, and freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager is tied with Tatum in kills per set.
The trio’s offensive production is in large part because of freshman setter Teodora Kričković, who leads all freshman in the nation with 11.05 assists per set this season. That number ranks second among Big Ten setters.
Freshman defensive specialist Audrey Jackson has taken on the role of libero for the Hoosiers this season. She has recorded 120 digs through 12 matches. Several other freshmen, including middle blocker Victoria Gray and defensive specialist Avery Freeman, have also made key contributions for Indiana this season.
Meet the Trojans
USC enters the matchup boasting a 10-2 overall record this season. The Trojans’ two losses this season came to ranked opponents — No. 19 Brigham Young University on Sept. 11 and then-No. 15 Penn State on Sept. 26.
However, the Trojans picked up a ranked win over then-No. 13 Creighton University in three sets. USC was powered during the match by redshirt sophomore outside hitter London Wijay, who notched nine kills and two service aces in the win. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Brooklyn Tealer and freshman opposite hitter Abigail Mullen each recorded seven kills in the match.
The Hoosiers and the Trojans shared just one nonconference opponent this season — Western Michigan University. Indiana swept Western Michigan on Sept. 5 in Bloomington, while USC did the same on Sept. 12 at Gersten Pavillion in Los Angeles.
With USC holding a Big Ten-high 2.96 blocks per set, Indiana’s offense will be tested. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Leah Ford leads the team with 47 total blocks. Offensively, Mullen leads the Trojans with 3.16 kills per set, followed by Wijay who’s averaging 3.05 kills per set.
Last season, the Trojans got the best of the Hoosiers in four sets in Bloomington. Alonso-Corcelles and Tatum each had 11 kills in the set, but it wasn’t enough to stop outside hitter Ally Batenhorst’s 20 kills and middle blocker Tyrah Ariail’s 10 kills. Neither will appear in this season's matchup, as Batenhorst graduated and Ariail transferred to the University of Missouri.
Meet the Bruins
In its third season with head coach Alfee Reft at the helm, UCLA stands at 8-5 on its season. UCLA opened its season with a 3-2 win over Long Beach State University but hit a three-match losing skid shortly after. The Bruins fell to Pepperdine University 1-3 and then lost two straight matches to then-No. 24 Texas Christian University.
Since then, UCLA has only dropped just two matches, which came to No. 4 Stanford University on Sept. 21 and No. 13 Purdue on Thursday. The Bruins recently picked up a ranked win over conference opponent in Penn State on Sept. 28.
UCLA is led by senior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette, who has recorded an average of 3.80 points per set this season. Defensively, redshirt junior middle blocker Marianna Singletary leads the Bruins in blocking with 1.28 blocks per game.
In 2024, Indiana and UCLA faced off in Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington. The Hoosiers dominated the Bruins, sweeping them and not allowing UCLA to get more than 20 points in a set. Alonso-Corcelles tallied a game-high 20 kills in the match, while Tatum had 11 kills.
Both the Hoosiers’ matches this weekend are slated for 10 p.m. EDT and will be streamed on Big Ten+. Friday’s match against USC will take place at the Galen Center, while Saturday’s matchup against UCLA will be at the Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial.
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
