No. 21 Indiana volleyball bounced back from a season-opening loss with a four set victory over the University of Georgia in the Big Ten/Southeastern Conference Challenge on Tuesday at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The victory marked the Hoosiers’ first of the season.
Indiana kicked off the first set with a kill from fifth-year middle blocker Kiki Granberry to take a 1-0 lead. But the lead wouldn’t last long.
Georgia went on an early 3-0 run to take a 4-2 advantage. But the Hoosiers responded with their own 4-0 scoring run to take back a 6-4 lead. The Hoosiers and Bulldogs continued to trade points and leads, with neither team taking more than a 2-point advantage.
Indiana reached set point first after an attacking error from Georgia senior outside hitter Alyssa Worden put the Hoosiers up 24-22. But the Bulldogs kept fighting. Georgia earned the next two points to tie the set back up at 24-24 following a kill from Bulldog sophomore middle blocker Emma Bryson and an attacking error from freshman outside hitter Sarah Snowbarger.
The Hoosiers responded with two points of their own to take back the lead and won the first set 26-24.
Indiana kept things rolling to start the second set. The Hoosiers opened the set on a 4-1 run and continued to tack on the points early. The Cream and Crimson got up to as much as an 11-6 advantage before the Bulldogs began to chip away at the lead.
Georgia went on a 3-1 run with two kills from freshman outside hitter Gigi Artiles and one kill from graduate student middle blocker Kendal Kemp to cut the lead to 12-9. Indiana responded with a kill of its own from Snowbarger, but the Bulldogs remained persistent.
Georgia continued to apply pressure, first tying the contest at 15-15 and eventually taking its first lead of the set at 16-15. But just like in the first set, the two teams continued trading points.
A Georgia missed serve and a kill from sophomore middle blocker Victoria Gray put the Hoosiers back out in front 22-20 and forced the Bulldogs into a timeout. Right out of the break, Indiana added to its advantage thanks to a service ace from junior defensive specialist Emma Segal.
The Hoosiers held on to their late 3-point advantage to win the second set 25-22.
Indiana opened the third set with back-to-back attacking errors, giving the Bulldogs an early 2-0 advantage. Sophomore outside hitter Jaidyn Jager responded with a kill to give the Hoosiers their first point of the set.
Just like the first two sets, the teams remained neck and neck. Neither squad jumped out to more than a 3-point advantage.
The Bulldogs took a slim 1-point advantage into the 15-point break. But right out of the timeout, Georgia committed an attacking error, allowing Jager to tally a kill to put the Hoosiers right back on top 16-15.
The Bulldogs tied the game with a kill from Artiles before the Hoosiers went on a 2-0 run to take back the lead 18-16 and force Georgia into a timeout.
But, just like the Hoosiers minutes before, Georgia went on a run of its own to take a 19-18 advantage and force Indiana into a timeout.
The Hoosiers tied the set at 19-19 following the timeout, but Georgia then went on a 3-0 run to take a 22-19 lead. Despite a push from the Hoosiers, the Bulldogs held on to their lead to win the set 25-22.
Indiana bounced back from the set loss on a 7-3 run to start the fourth set and force Georgia into an early timeout. The Hoosiers continued their tenacity, going up 13-7 and forcing the Bulldogs into another early timeout.
Heading into the media timeout, Indiana held a 15-9 advantage. Despite efforts from the Bulldogs, Indiana held on to its lead to take the game and win the set 25-17.
The victory moved the Hoosiers to 1-1 on the season. Jager led Indiana with 19 kills. Junior opposite hitter Ella Boersema was close behind with a career-high of 12 kills and zero errors.
Indiana will look to continue its momentum into its next contest of the Big Ten/SEC Challenge when it faces No. 12 Texas A&M at 5 p.m. on Wednesday in Mackey Arena in West Lafayette. The game will be streamed on the Big Ten Network.
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki87731 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
