Indiana volleyball completed its pair of weekend games undefeated with a victory over Maryland on Sunday afternoon inside Wilkinson Hall.
The Hoosiers carried momentum from their Friday night victory over Oregon into the matchup, as the Cream and Crimson took care of business and swept the Terrapins in three sets.
The Indiana offense shined throughout, tallying 51 kills on a hitting percentage of .456, which marked the highest percentage for Indiana in a Big Ten match since 1991.
Maryland got on the board first, tallying the first point of the first set. However, Indiana responded with a kill from freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager to tie the game at 1-1.
The first set ended with nine ties. Indiana remained in control for most of the set, but the Terrapins were always there with an answer to keep the game in striking distance.
Indiana began to separate late in the first set with a 19-16 lead, but Maryland continued to fight and close the gap, cutting the lead to just one point at 22-21. Despite the late-game pressures from the Terrapins, Indiana ultimately got big plays when it needed them most and closed out the first set 25-23 with a kill from senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum.
Jager led the offense for the Hoosiers in the first set, tallying eight kills and an overall attacking percentage of .800. As a team, Indiana logged 21 kills and hit .409.
The second set of the match was much like the first, with five ties and one lead change. Maryland got out to a 3-0 start, but Indiana responded with a run of its own to take the lead back and set the score at 7-6.
Indiana continued this momentum going up by as many as three points and maintaining the lead for the remainder of the set. However, the Terrapins were always there to respond just like in the first set.
The teams continued to trade points throughout and sat tied at 21-21 in the second set. However, with the set on the line, Indiana stepped up as it did often throughout the night. The Hoosiers went on a 4-1 run to close out the set 25-22.
Indiana carried this momentum into its third and final set as the Hoosiers took the first point of the set and led throughout. The Terrapins kept the set close until the midway point, when the Hoosiers fully pulled away.
The Terrapins tied the set at 8-8, but Indiana responded with a run to go up 17-11 and forced Maryland to use a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Hoosiers continued their run, adding five more straight points. In the set, the Hoosiers’ offense completely took over with a .607 attacking percentage, 17 kills and zero errors.
Throughout the night, all five of Indiana’s rotational hitters had at least five kills and hit over .300. As a team, Indiana had an average hitting percentage of .456. The contest marked the first time Indiana hit above .450 in a contest since Aug. 2003 against Radford University.
Jager led the way with 16 kills and an attacking percentage of .542. However, Tatum and senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles were close behind with 10 and 14 kills, respectively. Alonso-Corcelles finished the night with an attacking percentage of .429, while Tatum hit .360.
The win advanced the Hoosiers’ overall record to 21-5 and 12-4 in conference play. With four games remaining in the regular season, Indiana has already matched single season program records for regular season wins and Big Ten wins.
The Hoosiers will have some time off before playing Rutgers at 6 p.m. Thursday in Bloomington. The game will be streamed 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.
