Hoosiers’ Upset Bid Falls Short

Sunday, October 13

Bloomington, Ind.

1:00 PM

Indiana University

9-7,2-4Big Ten

#3 Penn State

16-1,6-0Big Ten

Penn St.

Indiana

10/13/2024 4:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana Volleyball team (9-7, 2-4 B1G) threw everything it had at No. 3 Penn State on Sunday (Oct. 13) afternoon in Wilkinson Hall. Late leads slipped away from IU in sets three and four, falling 3-1 to the visiting Nittany Lions (25-22, 22-25, 30-32, 22-25) in Bloomington.

After a strong opening set, Penn State responded in set two to tie things up. The Hoosiers had five set points in game three but were hurt by a trio of late service errors. Sophomore Ramsey Gary had a serve, up 28-27, that hung on the net and fell back onto IU's side for an error. The Nittany Lions closed out games three and four, finishing off the Hoosiers' push for a signature win.

Junior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles had a team high 18 kills while senior setter Camryn Haworth finished one kill away from her fourth career triple-double (36 assists, 11 digs, 9 kills). The Hoosiers had a productive afternoon from the middle, getting 15 combined kills from junior Madi Sell and sophomore Ava Vickers.

IU out blocked Penn State (13.0-10.0) with Sell (7.0) matching a career high along the way. It was the fourth match this season that the Hoosiers finished with 13 total team blocks. Gary had 17 digs to pace the back row efforts. Five different IU players had at least seven digs.

Penn State All-American outside hitter Jess Mruzik found her groove in the fourth set, effectively carrying her team to victory with seven kills on eight swings. She had a match high 21 kills. Outside hitter Camryn Hannah (17) and Maggie Mendelson (11) were also in double figures.

The Hoosiers have a quick turnaround this week as they prep for a pair of nationally televised matches. IU heads to Illinois on Wednesday night (7:00 PM ET, Big Ten Network) and No. 10 Purdue on Saturday (7:00 PM ET, Big Ten Network).

Set Breakdown
Set 1: Indiana 25, Penn State 22
Two days after a frustrating night in Minnesota, Indiana responded with a strong opening set to kick start its day in Wilkinson Hall. The Hoosiers hit just .225 but held Penn State to an offensive clip of .143 (15-9-42). Camryn Haworth had 10 assists and two kills in set one while IU had 18 digs as a team.

• IU eventually broke away after the two teams exchanged early points. Avry Tatum had a pair of kills, sandwiched around a Penn State attacking error, as the Hoosiers opened a 16-13 advantage.

• Penn State got back on level terms at 17-all following a 3-0 run with libero Gillian Grimes at the service line. IU was denied by a double block before Nittany Lion middle blocker Maggie Mendelson converted on a kill to force IU into a timeout.

• The Hoosiers took the lead back for good out of the timeout with Candela Alonso-Corcelles and Ava Vickers combining on the first block of the night. IU closed on an 8-5 run to win the opening set. Madi Sell denied Penn State on a quick set to take the 25-22 win in game one.

Set 2: Penn State 25, Indiana 22
As expected, Penn State punched back in game two to even the match. Both blocks came alive with each team recording five in set two. Alonso-Corcelles had seven kills in game three while Sell had four blocks. Penn State found a few more points offensively to seal the deal. Jess Mruzik had five kills and two blocks for the Nittany Lions.

• Penn State opened a lead of four points at the 11-7 and 15-11 intervals. Mendelson had consecutive kills to carry Penn State into the media timeout. After exchanging service errors out of the break, Mendelson and setter Izzy Starck combined on a block to take a five-point advantage.

• IU had its chances to get back into the set. Camryn Hannah was called for a blocking error to close the deficit to three points. Alonso-Corcelles and Ava Vickers had kills out of an IU timeout to get back within three. IU couldn't get the deficit any smaller through the remainder of the set.

• A solo block from Mady Saris and a double block from Sell and Haworth denied Penn State on its first two set points. After a long rally on the third set point, Mruzik finished off the frame with a fantastic cut shot just inside the line. IU challenged but failed to overturn the call. That proved to be a big moment as the Hoosiers burned both challenges in set two.

Set 3: Penn State 32, Indiana 30
Reminiscent of a long set against Minnesota in 2023, Sunday's game three against Penn State will be one that haunts the Hoosiers. IU had a chance at five set points, failing to convert three of them because of service errors. The Hoosiers had four blocks in the set and 13 kills but gave away five points at the service line. Penn State won the set 32-30 on 13 combined kills from their left side attackers.

• After commanding most of set two, Penn State repeated that in the early portion of set three. Ava Falduto aced IU on a miscommunication before Mruzik terminated a kill to take a 10-6 lead. Aird took his first timeout before the momentum got out of hand.

• IU continued to battle back, going on an 8-3 run to retake the advantage. A big swing from Haworth, going on second contact, handed IU the 14-13 lead. It was IU's first lead since 5-4 in the set.

• The first sign of cracks from Penn State came on consecutive attacking errors from Mruzik. She failed to get the first ball over the net on a back row swing before her next attempt sailed out of bounds. The Nittany Lions called timeout, trailing by three (19-16) in game three.

• Aird showed some veteran coaching composure, standing next to the official with Penn State back to serve. He acted as if he would take a timeout but neglected not to. Mruzik sent her serve into the net before Avry Tatum stepped back to the line and aced Penn State. That ace handed IU a 21-19 lead.

• On the second set point, Haworth went back to the service line with a chance to be the hero. Her serve sailed long and began a chain reaction. IU's next two serves, all on set point, were errors. Penn State finally pulled ahead and got back-to-back kills from Taylor Trammell to finish off the set win.

Set 4: Penn State 25, Indiana 22
Another chance to continue the match fell out of the grasp of IU down the stretch. Mruzik proved her value as an All-American attacker, finishing the set with seven kills on eight swings. IU got four kills and a block from Sell but six service errors put the final touches on a four-set loss.

• IU jumped out of the gates, quickly opening a 9-5 lead. Penn State responded with three points, all kills from Hannah, but IU took the advantage back to four on a kill from Alonso-Corcelles. Katie Schumacher-Cawley took her first timeout with IU leading 12-8.

• The Hoosier lead got as big as five with Haworth and Sell combining on a massive block to get Wilkinson Hall on its feet. IU had every chance to close out the set but Penn State refused to go away. The Nittany Lions quickly added three points before Aird took his first timeout.

• Service errors from Delaynie Maple and Ramsey Gary halted any chance to open up another lead. Vickers sided out with a big kill out of the middle but Penn State closed on a 5-1 run from there. Mruzik provided a pair of impressive kills before Mendelson closed out the match, terminating past the outstretched arms of IU.

Top Hoosier Performers
#3 Alonso-Corcelles, Candela
18 kills, 9 digs, 1 block, 1 assist

#10 Haworth, Camryn
36 assists, 11 digs, 9 kills, 5 blocks

#1 Sell, Madi
7 kills, 7 blocks

Notes to Know
• After Sunday's tight loss, IU falls to 1-62 all-time against Penn State. The Hoosiers are now 0-38 against top-three teams in program history following the defeat to the No. 3 Nittany Lions.

• Senior setter Camryn Haworth came one kill away from her fourth career triple-double. This is the second time in her career she's come two-or-fewer kills from recording a triple-double. She had 45 assists, 16 digs and 8 kills in a win at No. 5 Ohio State in 2022. She had 36 assists, 11 digs and 9 kills in today's defeat to No. 3 Penn State.

• The Fishers, Ind. native has 10 matches with 7+ kills in her career. Today's effort was the 29th double-double of her fantastic college career. She moves into a tie for second (Victoria Brisack) for the most double-doubles in IU history during the 25-point rally era (since 2008).

• Haworth had another multi-ace effort at the service line against Penn State. That takes her to 195 for her collegiate career. She needs just two more to tie the all-time IU record and three to break the program record for service aces.

• Junior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles has had 10+ kills in 27 of her 46 career Big Ten matches since arriving in Bloomington. In her last four games, she's averaging 4.47 kills per set. Twice this year, including today's contest against Penn State, she's had 18 kills.

• Junior middle blocker Madi Sell had a productive afternoon, calling for the ball offensively down the stretch. She matched career highs in blocks (7.0) and attacks (17) while hitting at a .353 clip (7-1-17) on Sunday.

• Set three in Sunday's match went a total of 62 points between the two sides. Over the past two seasons, IU has had four different sets go over the 30-point threshold on both sides. The Hoosiers are just 1-3 in those four games. The lone set win came at Northwestern (34-32 – Set 2, Oct. 29, 2023). Three of those set losses came in Wilkinson Hall.