Indiana volleyball kicked off its home opener with a three-set victory over California Polytechnic State University in the Indiana Invitational on Thursday at Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington.
Cal Poly got on the board first, but a kill from fifth-year middle blocker Kiki Granberry quickly tied the match at 1-1. Indiana continued to tack on points with a 9-2 run, forcing the Mustangs into an early timeout down 10-3.
But the timeout didn’t slow the Hoosiers down.
Out of the break, Indiana sophomore middle blocker Victoria Gray and junior opposite hitter Ella Boersema combined for a block. Cal Poly responded with a kill of its own but couldn’t string together a run. The Hoosiers continued building its lead, taking a 15-6 advantage into the media timeout.
Cal Poly junior outside hitter Kendall Beshear picked up a kill out of the timeout, but Indiana regained the serve following a Cal Poly net violation. A kill from sophomore outside hitter Jaidyn Jager and an ace serve from sophomore setter Teodora Krickovic put the Hoosiers up 18-7 and forced another Mustang timeout.
The Hoosiers finished the first set on a 7-4 run, winning it 25-11.
Indiana and Cal Poly opened the second set trading points. The game was tied at 1-1, 2-2, 3-3 and 5-5 to start. The Hoosiers created a 4-0 run off kills from Gray and Granberry. A block from Granberry and a service ace from sophomore defensive specialist Hannah Leftridge put Indiana up 9-5.
But the Mustangs stormed back with a 5-0 run of their own to take a 10-9 lead and force Indiana head coach Steve Aird to call a timeout.
Right out of the break, Cal Poly tallied a block to extend its lead to 11-9.
The Hoosiers responded immediately.
Indiana earned a 6-0 run to take a 15-11 lead into the media timeout.
After returning to action the Hoosiers and Mustangs traded errors before freshman outside hitter Sarah Snowbarger tallied a kill to give Indiana an 18-13 lead.
The Cream and Crimson didn’t let up as they went on a 4-1 run and extended their advantage to 22-14. After another Mustang timeout, the Hoosiers held on to their momentum and lead to win the second set 25-16.
In the third set, Indiana picked right back up where it left off. Granberry earned the first point of the set with a kill to give the Hoosiers a 1-0 lead. The Mustangs matched the score with a kill of their own before Granberry secured another kill.
The Cream and Crimson extended their advantage to 11-5, but Cal Poly pulled closer. The Mustangs managed to shrink the Hoosiers’ lead to just one point.
Indiana responded with a kill from Granberry, but Cal Poly notched a kill on the next point. The Mustangs continued their momentum and held a 15-13 lead at the media timeout.
Out of the break, Cal Poly outscored Indiana 6-4 to take a 21-17 lead and force the Hoosiers to call a timeout. Indiana came out of its timeout strong with four straight points to tie the game up at 21-21.
The Mustangs regained the lead following an Indiana service error. But a Jager kill tied the game again at 22-22. Indiana and Cal Poly continued to trade points, and a Granberry kill was all it took to knot the game at 24-24.
After a back-and-forth battle, the Hoosiers pulled away in the final points to secure a 28-26 third set victory.
Jager led the Hoosiers with 14 kills and a .400 attacking percentage. Gray trailed closely with nine kills and an .538 hitting percentage.
The Hoosiers will look to finish the Indiana Invitational 2-0 when they face Eastern Illinois University at 7 p.m. Friday in Wilkinson Hall. Streaming will be available on Big Ten+.
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki87731 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
