After a successful regular season in which Indiana volleyball went 23-7 overall and 14-6 in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers earned themselves a ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010.
While nerves are to be expected in a postseason tournament match, the pregame jitters were clear in the Hoosiers’ three-set victory over the University of Toledo on Thursday inside Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington.
Indiana is a roster constructed by a few key veteran pieces and a plethora of freshmen. Seven of those freshmen saw action on the court against the Rockets. With a group of freshmen playing their first NCAA Tournament game, the nerves showed in the first set.
“I mean we’re young across the board, and I didn’t think we were smooth and composed early, even for the practice today,” Indiana head coach Steve Aird said postgame. “But I think we’ll feel a lot better going into tomorrow just having a match under our belt.”
The Rockets came out with energy and got on the board first in the contest with a kill from sophomore pin hitter Olivia Heitkamp, igniting enthusiasm into the Toledo fans in Wilkinson Hall.
Throughout the first set, the Hoosiers’ nerves persisted, and the team continued to trade points with the Rockets. Indiana started off with a few unforced errors and let some uncharacteristic points drop early.
However, as the set went on, the Hoosiers grew more comfortable on the court. They held just a 16-15 lead midway through the set but went on a 9-3 run to defeat Toledo 25-18 in the first set.
From that point on, Indiana took full control and held the Rockets to 15 and 17 points in the next two sets, respectively.
“They made some adjustments early that we didn’t see on film, and it took us a little while to get going.” Aird said. Game two, game three, we got a little bit tighter and a little bit better.”
After overcoming the slow start and early jitters, Indiana finished the night with a hitting percentage of .307 and held Toledo to an .163 attacking percentage. The Hoosiers’ pin hitters in seniors Candela Alonso-Corcelles and Avry Tatum, along with freshman Jaidyn Jager, led the offense with 12, nine and 11 kills, respectively.
Now that Indiana has one tournament game under its belt, early nerves should be out of the way. Indiana will need to get out to a good start when it faces No. 5-seeded University of Colorado Boulder at 6 p.m. Friday inside Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington.
The Buffaloes have a 23-8 overall record and went 12-6 in the Big 12 Conference. Colorado also defeated its first-round opponent — American University — in three sets Thursday.
Heading into the match, Aird has full confidence in his team to stay true to themselves and play “Indiana volleyball.” Rather than adding more stress to the players during a high intensity post season, Aird chooses to stay calm in preparing and coaching during the tournament. Aird emphasized remaining focused on the team enjoying their time and trusting in their training.
“Just be consistent, play with great passion and energy, play hard and play fast and do the stuff that we do,” Aird said. “I’m not trying to make it bigger than it is. Too many people worry about ‘What if this happens and what if that happens.’ Just play to the next point, fly around, love each other and play hard.”
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
