No. 2 Nebraska Pushes Past Indiana in Lincoln

Saturday, November 16

Lincoln, Neb.

8:30 PM

Indiana University

12-14,5-11Big Ten

#2 Nebraska

26-1,16-0Big Ten

Indiana

Nebraska

11/16/2024 11:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

LINCOLN, Neb. – Using a number of different lineup combinations due to injuries and situational matchups, the Indiana Volleyball team (12-14, 5-11) failed to find any offensive rhythm at the Bob Devaney Center on Saturday (Nov. 16) evening. The No. 2 Huskers comfortably swept the visiting Hoosiers (25-12, 25-17, 25-19) to win their 40th-straight match at home.

IU was suffocated by the defensive play and the offensive pressure that Nebraska can produce on its home court. The Hoosiers hit .056 on the night (29-23-108), digging out of an early hole after hitting negative (-.088) in the opening set. Junior opposite Avry Tatum returned to the lineup with a team high eight kills. She also chipped in a pair of blocks on the night.

The Hoosiers began the evening in a 6-2 offense with senior Camryn Haworth and freshman Sade Ilawole doing the setting. IU was forced to work out of it and back into its normal 5-1 lineup later in the contest. Haworth tallied 20 assists, eight digs and three kills in the defeat.

13 of IU's 18 players were called into action by head coach Steve Aird. Freshman middle blocker Ella Boersema chipped in three kills and a big ace down the line. The Hoosiers had four team blocks with Tatum and junior middle blocker Madi Sell each providing a pair. IU had three aces as well. On the night, the Hoosiers were aced just once.

IU returns home next Friday night (Nov. 22) to play UCLA at Wilkinson Hall. It will finish out the regular season road slate next Sunday (Nov. 24) at Ohio State on the Big Ten Network.

Set Breakdown
Set 1: Nebraska 25, Indiana 12
Nebraska got Indiana in a rotation it couldn't escaped and pounced on the visitors to a commanding opening set victory. IU had just six kills in game one, hitting negative (-.088, 6-9-34). Junior Candela Alonso-Corcelles was put in some tough situations in the opening frame and committed seven attacking errors. The Hoosiers had to revert back into the 5-1 lineup to get some offensive flow back into the system. Nebraska produced 13 kills – four from redshirt junior Taylor Landfair – to run away with the set.

• IU came out punching on Saturday night. Junior Avry Tatum buried a kill through the block and in front of the Nebraska defense. She went back to the service line and placed a ball in the far corner for the ace. IU took the brief lead at 5-4 and then held it again at 6-5 on a swing through the middle from junior Madi Sell.

• Things completely flipped in the favor of the home team when senior Kennedi Orr went back to the service line for Nebraska. The Huskers opened up the lead on a massive 12-0 run. IU burned both timeouts and lost a challenge as the Huskers took a 17-6 lead. Orr's run of serve finally ended on an attacking error from Nebraska sophomore Harper Murray.

• Tatum and senior Mady Saris provided a pair of late kills. An additional attacking error off the swing of Nebraska sophomore Andi Jackson pulled IU into double-digit points. Murray comfortably converted on the third set point to take the opening game, 25-12.

Set 2: Nebraska 25, Indiana 17
IU settled back into a 5-1 offense – run by senior Camryn Haworth – that opened up some more options against the big Nebraska block. IU greatly improved its hitting percentage in the second set and dug itself out of the negatives on the evening. Alonso-Corcelles and Tatum provided four and three kills respectively. However, the Huskers had too many answers for the Hoosiers on Saturday. Jackson and senior Merritt Beason each had four kills in game two. Senior Lexi Rodriguez chipped in seven blocks as Nebraska pulled away late with a 25-17 win.

• A big hustle play from the Hoosiers brought them back into the set. Haworth had a big up in the campfire, picking up a tip from Nebraska. That defensive play ultimately led to Alonso-Corcelles earning a kill with a swing off the block. That point sparked a 5-0 run from the visitors and made Nebraska use a timeout. Tatum had a pair of blocks on Beason as IU got back on level terms at 12-all.

• Things quickly turned back in the favor of Nebraska as Beason got going with three kills over IU's block. Nebraska's 4-0 run with freshman Olivia Mauch at the line prompted a timeout from IU head coach Steve Aird. Tatum terminated off the block to side out for the Hoosiers and trim the lead to three (13-16).

• Errors started to mount up late in the second set. IU flipped back into the 6-2, taking Haworth out of the game and adding Ilawole and freshman Ella Boersema back into the match. Boersema was promptly blocked by Nebraska as the hosts pulled away for a 25-17 set two win.

Set 3: Nebraska 25, Indiana 19
The Hoosiers hung in with the No. 2 Huskers in game three but the offense, under the direction of sophomore Bergen Reilly, made the difference. Nebraska hit .394 in set three (16-3-33) and got contributions from a pair of newcomers into the match. Boersema provided a late spark for IU with three kills on four errorless swings but it wasn't enough. IU had two blocks and two aces in the final set but eight unforced attacking errors added up and aided the Nebraska sweep.

• IU opened the set with a big block move from Alonso-Corcelles to deny former Hoosier and current Nebraska graduate student Leyla Blackwell on the slide. The two sides were tied at 5-all in the early goings after a big from Tatum. IU wouldn't have the match tied the rest of the way.

• Nebraska quickly flipped the script to the tune of a 5-0 run. Two attacking errors and an overpass from Saris turned the momentum to the Nebraska side. Murray had a kill to make it 10-5 for Nebraska. IU thought there was no touch on the swing but the visitors had already burned both challenges. Sophomore Ava Vickers sided out to get Beason off the service line.

• Kills from Tatum and Boersema closed the gap to just five (10-15) but Nebraska answered on a 3-0 run with attack error from Saris and Alonso-Corcelles to go up 18-10. Boersema got a kill and then an ace before a solo block from Vickers to bring the deficit back to just five (13-18).

• IU got the deficit as small as four after Haworth went over on two for the kill. From there, it was a 3-1 run from Nebraska to close the match. Boersema fended off the first set point but an IU attacking error closed out the sweep for the Huskers.

Top Hoosier Performers
#13 Tatum, Avry
8 kills, 2 blocks

#10 Haworth, Camryn
20 assists, 8 digs, 3 kills

Notes to Know
• The Hoosiers hit just .056 (29-23-108) on the evening against a tough defensive Nebraska team. It was the lowest team hitting percentage by the IU program since mustering just a .031 efficiency at Minnesota on Nov. 13, 2022. It's the fourth time IU hit under .100 this year with all of those matches coming against top-10 teams.

• IU allowed just one ace on the evening, the fourth time this year that the Hoosiers have been aced on just one occasion. The service ace that IU did give up came on a ball that sat on the tape and fell over to its side. It won the service battle, with a +2 net advantage from the end line.