Shorthanded Hoosiers Beaten by No. 8 Badgers

Thursday, October 24

Bloomington, Ind.

7:00 PM

Indiana University

9-10,2-7Big Ten

#8 Wisconsin

14-4,8-1Big Ten

Wisconsin

Indiana

10/24/2024 9:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Without the services of senior setter Camryn Haworth and junior opposite Avry Tatum, the Indiana Volleyball team (9-10, 2-7 B1G) was forced to go to the drawing board offensively against another top-15 opponent. IU ran a 6-2 system but couldn't get past the Wisconsin block, falling to the No. 8 Badgers in three sets (23-25, 18-25, 13-25).

Of its opening nine Big Ten contests, IU has already faced five top-15 opponents. Its other two losses, to Illinois and Washington, are both teams in the top-30 of the RPI. The Hoosiers started freshman Sade Ilawole and sophomore Luca Fickell in a two-setter system.

It was the first game since Nov. 27, 2021 (at Wisconsin) that a setter not named Haworth started. Thursday was also the first game since Oct. 17, 2021 (at Minnesota) that Haworth didn't appear in, breaking a run of 95-consecutive appearances for the Fishers, Ind. native. Tatum's absence broke a run of 39-straight matches played for the Hoosiers.

Junior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles and graduate student defensive specialist Delaynie Maple both played the full six rotations for IU. The duo shared the team lead for kills (8) with senior outside hitter Mady Saris. Maple's eight kills were a career high. She was targeted 28 times in serve receive and committed zero passing errors.

Ilawole had the team lead with a career best 12 assists. Fickell also had a career high with her 10 assists. Sophomore libero Ramsey Gary led the defensive effort with 14 digs. Ilawole and Maple each had seven in their back row efforts.

The Hoosiers were out blocked (14.0-3.0) by a veteran, physical Wisconsin team. Graduate student middle blocker CC Crawford had a hand in eight blocks. The Badgers had a major advantage in kills, putting away 49 balls in comparison to IU's 29.

IU's losing streak reaches five games for the first time since 2022. The Hoosiers had a similar stretch of ranked opponents two years ago (Oct. 30-Nov. 13, 2022). That year, IU broke the streak with a win at home against Northwestern. IU's next match features a similar home contest with the Wildcats (Oct. 27).

Set Breakdown
Set 1: Wisconsin 25, Indiana 23
IU forced Wisconsin into a number of early errors. The Badgers committed eight attacking errors and six serving errors, keeping the Hoosiers within striking distance. Running a brand-new offense, IU had just eight kills. Delaynie Maple and Candela Alonso-Corcelles each had three kills. Maple also had an ace and five digs in a productive all-around set. Wisconsin got 19 first-set kills and was able to finish off the game despite a sluggish start.

• The Hoosiers trailed early but rattled off four-consecutive points to even the set at 9-all. With Sade Ilawole at the service line, IU got kills from Alonso-Corcelles and Maple. Wisconsin middle blocker CC Crawford hit a ball into the net during the Hoosier run.

• Wisconsin got a pair of kills from outside hitter Julia Orzol and right-side Anna Smrek to take a 3-0 run and a 15-12 lead into the media timeout. Out of the break, Crawford aced the Hoosiers on a serve that hung on the net and fell onto IU's side.

• The lead for the Badgers went back up to as high as five (21-16) after Crawford terminated on a long rally. Head coach Steve Aird took his opening timeout to help get the offense back on track. IU responded accordingly, rattling off three points out of the break. Maple and Alonso-Corcelles each had kills as the hosts trimmed the deficit to two points.

• IU fended off a pair of set points as reigning National Player of the Year Sarah Franklin got blocked by Madi Sell and Mady Saris and the committed an attacking error. Alonso-Corcelles got a big rip from the back row with the chance to bring the game to deuce but sailed the shot long.

Set 2: Wisconsin 25, Indiana 18
The visitors got back on track in game two, making the necessary adjustments to hit .556 (17-2-27) in the set. After 14 total errors in the opening frame, the Badgers settled down to just two attacking and serving errors respectively. Crawford and Smrek each had a hand in five blocks. Maple provided IU four kills to help the hosts hit .179 (12-7-28), its most efficient frame of the night.

• With freshman setter Charlie Fuerbringer at the service line, Wisconsin got IU into a rotation it couldn't get out of. The Badgers scored the opening four points before Alonso-Corcelles was able to side out with a kill. The Hoosiers trailed the whole set and burned a timeout after just three points.

• IU's best run of form in the game came late in the set as Saris terminated on a pair of balls to trim the deficit to just three points (18-21). Maple couldn't continue the momentum as she committed IU's first service error of the night on a ball that sailed out of her hands. After IU's final timeout, Wisconsin scored the final three points to take the second set.

Set 3: Wisconsin 25, Indiana 13
IU finally wore down by the third set, failing to provide any answers to Wisconsin's efficient attack. The visitors outhit IU (.400-.000) and added a six-block advantage to finish off the sweep. Ramsey Gary had eight digs, her fifth set this season with at least eight pickups. Franklin led the way with five kills for Wisconsin while middle blocker Devyn Robinson added four blocks.

• With Fuerbringer at the service line, Wisconsin used the same rotation it did in set two to open up a big 7-0 advantage in game three. From there, the Badgers lead never dipped under that seven-point threshold. IU got the lead down to 9-16 but Wisconsin closed on a 9-4 run to finish out the match.

Top Hoosier Performers
#23 Maple, Delaynie
8 kills, 7 digs, 1 ace

#32 Gary, Ramsey
14 digs, 3 assists

#15 Ilawole, Sade
12 assists, 7 digs, 2 aces

Notes to Know
• IU falls below .500 overall for the first time since Nov. 19, 2022. IU won three-straight matches to finish .500 on the season. Last year, IU began 10-3 on the season and never dipped below the .500 threshold for the rest of the campaign. The Hoosiers' stretch of ranked opponents takes a brief hiatus for the next three contests.

• In their first career major appearances, freshman setter Sade Ilawole and sophomore setter Luca Fickell both set career highs in assists and digs. Ilawole finished with 12 assists and seven digs and an additional career high two aces. Fickell tallied 10 assists and five digs.

• Graduate student Delaynie Maple, who played as a primary attacker for the first time in her career, rattled off a career best eight kills. She was targeted in serve receive on 28 occasions, the highest number of receptions in her brief indoor collegiate career.

• IU committed just three service errors in the match against Wisconsin. That was IU's best performance in the category since recording three errors from the end line in a sweep of Maryland last season (Oct. 7, 2023). In its last three matches, IU's only missed 11 serves (1.22 p/s).