Kjolhede Dominates Big Ten Opener

Wednesday, September 20

Bloomington, Ind.

8:00 PM

Indiana University

11-3,1-0Big Ten

Illinois

5-6,0-1Big Ten

Illinois

Indiana

9/20/2023 11:26:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Senior middle blocker Savannah Kjolhede played the defensive game of her life on Wednesday night, blocking a career-high 12 shots, a part of 18 total team blocks for the Hoosiers, as the Indiana Volleyball team (11-3, 1-0) beat Illinois on Wednesday night (September 20) in Wilkinson Hall.

IU dominated Illinois in the opening set and rallied to control sets three and four as head coach Steve Aird and company knocked off the visiting Fighting Illini 3-1 (25-13, 24-26, 25-17, 25-17).

Tonight's win marks a third-straight victory in a Big Ten home opener after beating Michigan State (2021) and Iowa (2022) in consecutive years.

Junior outside hitter Mady Saris and sophomore outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles each chipped in 11 kills to lead a balanced offensive attack for IU.

The Hoosiers have put together back-to-back wins over Illinois (Nov. 23, 2022 and Sept. 20, 2023) for the first time since winning both matchups in the 2000 season. IU's eight-game winning streak is the longest since 2017.

IU will hit the road Sunday afternoon for the 14th all-time matchup against the nation's top-ranked program when it heads to Madison to face the No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers on BTN+.

Stats and Notes
Team
• The Hoosiers were far the superior team statistically on Wednesday night, outhitting the Illini .203 to .053 with an equal number of kills (43) on 12 fewer swings while making 20 fewer errors.

• IU blocked 18 shots, the most by the program since an 18-block performance against Northwestern last November. It was the sixth time in the 25-point rally era (since 2008) that IU has blocked 18-or-more shots as a team in a single match.

• The 18 blocks were the most in a four-set match by an IU team since recording 21 across four sets at Michigan in 2016. Kjolhede, who blocked 12 shots, had the most stuffs by an IU player in a four-set match since Ashley Benson in 2010.

• Nine services aces on the evening extended the team's streak of five-or-more aces in a match out to 12-consecutive contests. Haworth and Saris had three each to lead the Hoosiers.

• IU's eight-game winning streak is the longest by the program since the 2017 season, making it the longest in the six-year tenure of Aird.

#10 Haworth, Camryn
• The junior was all over the court for IU as she recorded her fourth double-double of the season on 36 assists and 10 digs.

• She recorded three service aces, including a nasty cut serve that beat Illinois' Raina Terry to her inside in the third set. Haworth has now recorded at least one ace in 17-straight games.

• Haworth is now tied for seventh in program history, alongside Jordan Haverly, with 127 aces. She is just four away from breaking the program's rally-era record of 130.

#15 Kjolhede, Savannah
• Perhaps her best career defensive night, Kjolhede provided a massive career high with 12 blocks including two solo stuffs. She blocked six shots in the final set.

• She became the 14th player in program history with 300 career blocks in an IU uniform, doing it in a match she became just the seventh player in IU history to tally 12-or-more blocks in a single match.

#32 Gary, Ramsey
• A statement game on national television for the freshman, Gary posted a career high 24 digs to anchor IU's defense on Wednesday night.

• Just two digs from matching the freshman single-game rally era record, Gary has now recorded 15+ digs in four-straight matches.

Scoring Recap
Set 1: Indiana 25, Illinois 13
• The Hoosiers dominated the visitors from the opening ball in the first frame, holding the Illini to just .029 hitting offensively while acing them three times.

• After a kill from Illinois' Jessica Nunge brought the score within two (7-5), the Hoosiers outscored the visitors 18-8 the rest of the way.

• Saris served six-consecutive balls late in the set as the lead ballooned to 12 at 23-11 and then at 25-13 as IU took the opening set in commanding fashion.

Set 2: Illinois 26, Indiana 24
• A much more balanced set, Illinois held the lead for most of the set before conceding late and rallying to win the frame 26-24.

• The two teams combined for nine aces in the second set between tough serving and poor passing but an edge in hitting percentage and offensive efficiency tipped the scales the way of Illinois.

• Illinois thought they'd closed out the set 25-21 but a challenge from Aird and Indiana revealed a four-contact play and handed IU the point.

• Three-straight points after the challenge in the favor of IU brought the match level at 24-all before the Illini closed out the final two balls.

Set 3: Indiana 25, Illinois 17
• Illinois hit .000 in the third set (9-9-34) behind a stout Indiana defense as the hosts bounced back for a 25-17 win.

• Kjolhede had two kills and three blocks in the set while her middle blocker counterpart, graduate student Kaley Rammelsberg, notched three kills of her own.

• IU went on a 9-0 run to break the score open at 16-6. Illinois would make a late push but an ace from Saris and an attack error gave IU the advantage.

Set 4: Indiana 25, Illinois 17
• IU's block broke open in the fourth set, swatting eight shots as the visitors hit negative (8-11-31) to close out the match.

• Kjolhede had six blocks herself in the frame while Saris had four kills to lead the Hoosiers offensively.

• An 8-1 run forced Illinois head coach Chris Tamas into his second timeout down 10 points. The visitors would close the gap to just five but IU rallied to close the match out in four sets.