Down 11-6 in the fifth set to No. 11 Oregon on Friday night, Indiana volleyball head coach Steve Aird was forced to call out a timeout. The Hoosiers, just a few points away from dropping their third consecutive match, needed to find an answer.
But those answers weren’t found, as Indiana fell to Oregon (25-23, 24-26, 22-25, 25-21, 9-15) inside the Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon.
It was going to be a tall task for the Hoosiers to take down Oregon inside its home gym, as the Ducks were 6-0 in the Matthew Knight Arena ahead of the matchup. But it was a critical one, as Indiana’s future schedule doesn’t get any easier.
On Sunday, Indiana will face another ranked opponent in No. 20 Washington. But now, the Hoosiers will enter the matchup on a three-game losing skid rather than entering with some momentum in their favor. Prior to falling to Oregon, Indiana was swept by No. 1 Nebraska on Oct. 8 and USC on Oct. 11.
Despite putting up a close fight with the Ducks, Indiana was outplayed in many statistical categories. Oregon tallied more kills, boasted a higher hitting percentage, accumulated fewer serving errors and collected more digs.
The Ducks and Hoosiers played close in each of the first four sets, but Indiana was unable to come up with key plays in the most important fifth set. Through the first four sets combined, Oregon tallied eight blocks. But in the final set alone, the Ducks earned six, holding the Hoosiers to a negative attacking percentage.
When the Cream and Crimson needed to perform at their best, they fell short. In the fifth set, the Hoosiers tallied more hitting errors than kills. In a must-win set in a must-win game against a top team like Oregon, those performances won’t produce favorable results.
The Hoosiers had high moments and strong performances from their players but couldn’t pull together plays at the most critical times.
Sophomore outside hitter Jaidyn Jager led Indiana with 19 kills. Sophomore middle blocker Victoria Gray hit .467 with eight kills in four sets played. Coming off a lower-body injury, junior outside hitter Izzy Clark made her first start for the Hoosiers, finishing with seven kills. But as a team, Indiana was held to a .195 attacking percentage, while the Ducks boasted a .224 rate.
Indiana played close with a tough opponent and showed fight. The Hoosiers have the pieces and the moments, but the best teams have to find ways to win when it matters most.
Now with three straight losses, Indiana sits at 10-6 overall and 3-4 in the conference. The Hoosiers will have the opportunity to turn things around when they face Washington at 5 p.m. Sunday in Seattle.
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki87731 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
