A sea of red lined outside the doors of Wilkinson Hall on Thursday, as a mix of Indiana and Nebraska volleyball fans poured into the sold-out venue.
Inside, Indianapolis Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton sat near Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson and Indiana University President Pamela Whitton. Despite the star-studded audience, all the attention was on No. 15 Indiana as it hosted No. 1 Nebraska for the program’s first ever top-15 matchup inside Wilkinson Hall.
The now 10-4 Hoosiers have established themselves as a legitimate team and for those reasons, got Nebraska’s best. Indiana played well in the match, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with Nebraska’s elite performance, resulting in a sweep loss.
But Indiana head coach Steve Aird didn’t hang his head low after the defeat. While cleaner volleyball could have been played at times, Aird was proud of his team.
Nebraska just performed better.
“We’re good,” Aird said postgame. “We have a really good volleyball team. We got beat by a really good volleyball team.”
Even against a top-defensive team in Nebraska, Indiana still managed to hold a .282 team attacking percentage and tally 34 kills over three sets. Sophomore outside hitter Jaidyn Jager and junior middle blocker Ella Boersema led the Cream and Crimson with nine kills each, with Boersema holding a .438 hitting percentage.
The Hoosiers had miscommunications and errors on the court at times, ran an efficient offense against a premier defense.
The Cornhuskers, however, clicked on offense all night. Nebraska hit at least .300 in all three sets and finished the evening hitting .379. The team had a balanced offensive attack with five Cornhuskers hitting at least .300. Senior outside hitter Harper Murray and sophomore outside hitter Teraya Sigler led Nebraska with 11 and 10 kills, respectively.
Indiana and Nebraska matched similarly in some statistics — blocking, attacking — but the margin for error was small. And the Hoosiers committed more errors than the Cornhuskers.
Indiana wanted to serve aggressively, something Aird has emphasized the importance of all season. But against Nebraska, the Hoosiers’ serving errors outweighed the service pressure.
Indiana committed 13 service errors and tallied just two serving aces. Meanwhile, Nebraska had just three service errors and earned five aces.
Nebraska’s offense was potent, and its defense never seemed to let up.
Indiana hasn’t been able to defeat top ranked opponents, including losses to then-No. 7 Louisville and then-No. 6 Wisconsin. But still, the Hoosiers are now in a place to be discussed as a legitimate threat when they do face the nations’ best.
While Aird would have been happier with a win, he knows this is an opportunity for continued growth as the Hoosiers continue to be exposed to the best teams in the country.
Now, all Indiana can do is continue to work and get ready for its next game. The Hoosiers will look to rebound when they face USC — a team receiving American Volleyball Coaches Association votes — at 2 p.m. Sunday inside Wilkinson Hall.
“Honestly, that’s just a really good team,” Aird said. “Tip your cap, learn what you learn and get ready for USC as fast as you can. I'm not disappointed in the fact that they're good, I just need to make sure we keep getting better.”
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki87731 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
