When Steve Aird took the position of head volleyball coach at Indiana in December 2017, one of his goals was to give Hoosier fans a volleyball team they could be proud of. He’s led Indiana to a 13th place finish in the Big Ten in 2019 and to a tied sixth-place conference finish in 2023. But through his first seven seasons with the Hoosiers, they never made the postseason.
Now, in his eighth season, Aird and the Hoosiers have accomplished a feat only five other Indiana volleyball teams have accomplished: an NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Hoosiers finished the regular season with an overall record of 23-7. They tied Indiana volleyball’s 2010 season for the most overall wins in program history. They finished the regular season in the top five of the conference standings for the first time since 1999.
“When I took the job, I just wanted to get to the point where people were proud,” Aird said in a press conference Sunday. “That’s been the biggest thing for me. I just feel like we have a program now that people can claim and be proud of and support.”
Indiana was selected as a No. 4 seed in its first NCAA Tournament in 15 years Sunday. With the top-16 seeding, the Hoosiers will host the first and second rounds of the tournament for just the second time in program history.
In the first round, Indiana will take on the University of Toledo. The winner of that match will face the winner of a contest between the University of Colorado Boulder and American University.
The Hoosiers are one of nine Big Ten programs to make the NCAA Tournament, which makes it the second most represented conference behind the Big 12 Conference. Indiana went 14-6 against Big Ten opponents this season and recorded wins over four of the conference teams in the tournament, including No. 4-seeded USC, No. 8-seeded UCLA, No. 8-seeded Penn State and Michigan.
“The conference is amazing,” Aird said. “I still think it's the best conference in the country and every single night you get tested and on the long play with it, it gets you prepared for what hopefully will be a pretty fun run in the tournament.”
Indiana’s path to the tournament was paved by its powerful and efficient offense. Senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles, senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum, freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager and freshman setter Teodora Kričković have been the core of the Hoosiers’ offensive efforts. The four were recognized by the Big Ten for their impact Tuesday.
Each of the pin hitters averaged 3.23 or more kills per set this season. Each also has a hitting percentage of .243 or above.
Kričković has been instrumental in the offense’s success, efficiently and effectively passing the ball to her teammates. Her 1,109 assists through the regular season ranked fourth in the Big Ten. She helped Indiana to a .280 hitting percentage, which was fourth in the conference.
Meet the Rockets
Toledo won its first ever Mid-American Conference Championship on Nov. 23 after wins over Miami University (Ohio), Ball State University and Western Michigan University in the MAC Tournament. The Rockets currently sit at 23-10 and went 11-7 in their conference games.
Western Michigan and Bowling Green State University were the only two common opponents on Indiana and Toledo’s schedules. The Hoosiers defeated Western Michigan 3-0 on Sept. 5 and Bowling Green 3-0 on Sept. 11.
The Rockets split their two matches with Bowling Green, defeating the Falcons 3-1 and falling 0-3, and went 2-1 against Western Michigan.
While Indiana has an impactful setter in Kričković, Toledo has one of its own. Senior setter Kelsey Smith assisted the Rockets to a .215 hitting percentage this season, which ranks third in the MAC. Smith has racked up 1,259 assists this season, for 9.68 assists per set.
Apart from her ability to spread the ball to Toledo attackers, Smith also possesses the ability to score. Despite not playing one of the main scoring positions, Smith’s 216.5 points rank fifth on the team.
However, sophomore outside hitter Olivia Heitkamp and redshirt sophomore middle blocker Sierra Pertzborn are the main point getters for Toledo. Each average over 3.20 points per set, with Heitkamp recording 3.07 kills per set and Pertzborn tallying 2.29 kills per set.
Indiana and Toledo will play at approximately 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington. The match will begin 30 minutes after the contest between Colorado and American, which starts at 3 p.m. Thursday. Both matches can be streamed on ESPN+.
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
