Volleyball Central: Minnesota and Penn State

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Big Ten gauntlet continues for the Indiana Volleyball team (9-5, 2-2 B1G) as it prepares for a pair of top-15 contests. The Hoosiers visit No. 14 Minnesota on Friday (Oct. 11) before welcoming No. 3 Penn State to Wilkinson Hall on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 13).

IU got on the board in conference play last weekend with a pair of 3-1 wins over visiting Michigan State and Ohio State. Those victories helped propel the Hoosiers to No. 36 in the first edition of the RPI rankings. IU's best victory of the season so far is over Notre Dame (32).

The next five contests on the schedule for IU will provide big chances to boost the postseason resume. Its next five opponents are all inside the top-30 of the RPI. The Hoosiers will also look to snap some long-standing losing streaks to Minnesota (13-straight losses) and Penn State (21-straight losses) this weekend.

Although at times inconsistent, IU has found ways to win games in multiple different manners this season. On Friday night it was 13 blocks, including seven from middle blocker Madi Sell, to defeat Michigan State. Sunday afternoon, it was a 16-point advantage from the service line to dispatch of Ohio State.

Junior opposite hitter Avry Tatum is averaging 4.13 kills per set (62 total) in four conference games this season. Senior setter Camryn Haworth is averaging 10.60 assists per set in Big Ten play and has improved her performance from the end line (10 aces to 7 errors).

Sophomore middle blocker Ava Vickers has been a revelation in conference play, helping to stabilize the offense out of the middle for IU. She's averaging 1.67 kills per set (.404 hitting percentage) and 0.93 blocks per set (14.0 total) in the Hoosiers' four league games.

The Hoosiers are searching for a top-15 win for the third-consecutive season after beating No. 5 Ohio State (2022) and No. 15 Purdue (2023) over the past two years. IU has never won matches over top-15 teams in three-straight years in program history.

Friday night's contest in Minneapolis will have a first serve of 7:30 PM ET/6:30 PM CT from the Maturi Pavilion. The Hoosiers return to the friendly confines of Wilkinson Hall on Sunday afternoon for its Dig Pink match (fans wear pink) against No. 3 Penn State (1:00 PM).

Gameday Info
at #14 Minnesota (Friday, October 11th – 7:30 PM ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/3TYTfQO
Live Stats: bit.ly/3zP5bxL

vs. #3 Penn State (Sunday, October 13th – 1:00 PM ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/3NeShfF
Live Stats: bit.ly/3BxcRoK

Stat Notes
• Junior opposite hitter Avry Tatum is having an All-Big Ten and All-American level season. She leads the Hoosiers with 186 kills and is hitting .329 over 14 contests. Of qualified power four opposite hitters in the nation, she ranks fourth in the country in hitting percentage. She leads opposite hitters, of those hitting above .325, with 186 kills.

• Texas A&M's Logan Lednicky (206 kills, .321 hitting percentage) is the only other right-side attacker with volume of numbers in the same category of Tatum at the power four level.

• IU is one of two schools in the league (Purdue) with a setter (Camryn Haworth) averaging more than 10.00 assists per set and a libero (Ramsey Gary) with over 4.00 digs per set. Haworth is also fourth in the conference in total service aces (29) while playing tough competition to start the year.

• Ramsey Gary has quietly had an outstanding sophomore year for the Hoosiers. She is second in the conference at 4.15 digs per set and is second among liberos with a 97.1 reception rate.

Notable
Big Five-Game Stretch
• IU finished off a pair of home matches against Michigan State and Ohio State, picking up its first pair of Big Ten wins. Those victories helped propel the Hoosiers to No. 36 in the first edition of the RPI ratings, released on Monday (Oct. 7) afternoon.

• The next five games for IU come against teams all ranked ahead of it in the RPI. A massive resume-building stretch awaits head coach Steve Aird and the Hoosiers. IU's next five games are against Minnesota (23), Penn State (4), Illinois (26), Purdue (16) and Wisconsin (8).

Brilliant Home Start
• The Hoosiers are off to a 7-0 start at Wilkinson Hall in 2024 after a pair wins last weekend. It's the best start to a home campaign in program history. Over the past two seasons, IU is 17-3 inside the confines of its home gym.

A Chance at History
• The Hoosiers host No. 3 Penn State on Sunday in Wilkinson Hall. IU has never beaten a top-3 team in program history. It has already lost to No. 1 Texas this year. The highest ranked win in program history was against No. 4 Penn State in 2010.

The Penn State Connection
• The connection between Penn State and Indiana runs deep. Head coach Steve Aird is a former player with the Nittany Lions and a former assistant coach, winning national titles in 2007 and 2013. Assistant coach Kevin Hodge was college teammates with Aird and played with Penn State in the late 1990's and early 2000's.

Best Stretch of Big Ten Play
• The Hoosiers are enjoying their best run of success in Big Ten play since the turn of the century. Over the past two years, IU has won 20 conference games - the most in a two-year span since 1999-2000. IU has won two so far in 2024.

• IU hasn't won nine-plus games in three-straight seasons since 1998-2000. In the 50 years of being a varsity sport, the Hoosiers have never won 10+ league games in consecutive seasons. Last year, the Hoosiers won 11 contests in Big Ten play.

Chasing Career Marks
• Senior setter Camryn Haworth passed the 3,000-assist threshold - the 8th in program history to do so - in the contest at No. 1 Texas this year. She is now chasing 4,000 assists and is closing to moving into the top five in IU's history books.

• Along the way, Haworth is hoping to pass the all-time aces mark of 197. She's got 193 for her career, needing just 5 in 16 remaining regular season matches. She sits fourth among all Big Ten players in aces since the beginning of the 25-point rally era (2008-Present).

• Fellow senior Mady Saris is looking to become the 20th member of the 1,000-kill club at Indiana. She has 995 for her career, needing just five away from reaching the threshold. Breana Edwards (2018-21) is the only other player under Coach Aird to hit the mark.

Scouting the Opponent
Minnesota (9-5, 2-2 B1G)
• A longtime powerhouse in women's volleyball, Minnesota is back to being a premier team in the country. The Golden Gophers are led by former Washington coach Keegan Cook and already have wins over top-10 foes in Wisconsin and Texas this season.

• After losing former Big Ten Player of the Year Taylor Landfair to the transfer portal, Minnesota has had new players step up to fill the offensive production. Julia Hanson, who torched IU off the bench last November, leads Minnesota with 181 kills (3.42 p/s). Opposite hitter Lydia Grote has gone for 150 kills.

• Indiana native and fifth-year senior Melani Shaffmaster became the first player in Minnesota history to record 4,000 assists, 1,000 digs, 300 kills and 200 blocks. The former Munciana player is the Big Ten's active leader in assists. She averages 8.42 assists per set but also has 54 kills and is a physical front row blocker.

• Over the past two years, Minnesota has lost prolific liberos in CC McGraw and Kylie Murr. Zeynep Palabiyik has stepped in nicely. She averages 4.04 digs per set and has also provided 57 assists on out of system balls.

Penn State (14-1, 4-0 B1G)
• There's been no better Big Ten program since joining the league in 1991 than Penn State. The seven-time national champions are three years removed from the end of the Russ Rose era. Katie Schumacher-Cawley has filled in nicely, taking the Nittany Lions to back-to-back regional appearances. She has then up to No. 3 in the nation, their highest ranking under her watch.

• Penn State has the premier attacking duo in the Big Ten right now with fifth-year senior pins Jess Mruzik and Camryn Hannah. Mruzik is averaging a whopping 4.48 kills per set. She's committed just 51 attacking errors and is hitting .314 from the left side.

• Izzy Starck was the nation's top-ranked setter out of high school this year and has filled in nicely for the graduated Mac Podraza. She's 11th in the nation, 3rd in the Big Ten, with 10.86 assists per set. She runs the 5-1 offense.

• The Nittany Lions are formidable in all aspects of the game. Their block averages 2.61 per set, led by a combined 110 blocks from middle blockers Maggie Mendelson and Taylor Trammell. Penn State has three fifth-year seniors in its starting lineup.

Inside the Series
Minnesota
• The Golden Gophers have dominated the all-time series, winning 13-straight matches over IU. The two teams played a tight five-set match in Bloomington last year with Minnesota overturning a deficit to snatch victory over the Hoosiers. IU last won in Minneapolis in 1995. It's lost the last 24 matches at Minnesota.

Penn State
• Penn State has dominated the all-time series, leading 61-1 against the Hoosiers. IU's only win in the matchup came at University Gym in 2010. To this date, it remains the highest ranked win in program history (No. 4). IU pushed Penn State to the brink in University Park last year, dropping a close five-set contest. The Hoosiers have lost 21-straight matches.

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Players Mentioned

Ramsey Gary

Camryn Haworth

Mady Saris

Madi Sell

Avry Tatum

Ava Vickers

Indiana University Athletics