Opposing teams have put pressure on Indiana volleyball from the service line throughout its season. At times, the Hoosiers have let that pressure affect them, like against then-No. 20 Minnesota. At others, Indiana has been able to combat powerful serving performances with other aspects of its game, like against Rutgers.
The Hoosiers have had strong performances of their own from the service line, as they ranked third in the Big Ten in service aces per set through the regular season, but, at times, defending the serve has been an area where Indiana has struggled.
However, that weakness didn’t show in the Hoosiers’ 3-0 win over the University of Toledo on Thursday at Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The win granted Indiana its 24th of the season, which set the program record for most victories in a single season.
Of the 10 Hoosiers that saw time on the court Thursday, six recorded a service ace, led by freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager, who had three in the match. Freshman defensive specialist Hannah Leftridge and senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles had two service aces each. Indiana out-served Toledo 10 aces to one.
“Looking at the 10 aces is cool,” Indiana head coach Steve Aird said after the match. “I thought Charlotte, Charlotte Vinson, had a great, a few great trips, and her numbers don’t look awesome — there was a few more errors — but she’s banging it and running points. Leftridge had a good night from the end line. I thought she contributed. And then Jaidyn had a really good serving night, too.”
The impactful play from the service line helped Indiana to go on runs throughout the evening, which were crucial if the Hoosiers wanted to pull out a win over the Rockets — who won the Mid-American Conference and made the program’s first NCAA Tournament.
Indiana found itself close with Toledo through the beginning and middle parts of the sets. In the first two sets, the Hoosiers and the Rockets were tied at nine points before Indiana began to pull ahead. A service ace from Vinson, a freshman outside hitter, won Indiana the first set.
In the second set, the Hoosiers went on a 7-1 run after being tied at nine, with Jager and Vinson at the service line. Their performances during the run gave Indiana the momentum it needed to pull out a 25-15 second-set win.
A similar story unfolded in the third set, too. Indiana was just three points ahead of Toledo before freshman setter Teodora Kričković stepped on the service line and sparked a 6-0 run — which included a service ace from Kričković — giving the Hoosiers a 24-16 advantage. They won the final set 25-17.
“I think if you’re going based off serves, they have crazy speed on their serves, so obviously they have a good serving match as well,” Toledo defensive specialist Macy Medors said. “I think today our service could have been a little bit more pressuring for them, but that’s the game.”
The Hoosiers’ serving supplemented their already potent offensive attack. Alonso-Corcelles and Jager both recorded double-digit kills in the match, with Alonso-Corcelles tallying 12 and Jager notching 11. Senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum had nine kills.
"We have a lot of different ways we can beat you, when we serve really well and pass really well,” Aird said. “It’s not a very fun thing for the opponent traditionally, but I was proud of our effort.”
Indiana will need to take that balanced scoring approach into its match against the University of Colorado Boulder in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
Like the Hoosiers, the Buffaloes also swept their first-round opponent in American University on Thursday. Colorado did not allow American to score more than 19 points in a set, and Buffaloes junior pin hitter Syndey Jordan scored 19.5 points in the match.
The second-round contest between the No. 4-seeded Hoosiers and the No. 5-seeded Buffaloes is slated for 6 p.m. Friday at Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington.
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Max Schneider (maxschn@iu.edu) and columnist Sean McAvoy (@sean_mc07 and semcavoy@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
