Momentum Slips Away in Five-Set Defeat

Sunday, November 24

Columbus, Ohio

7:30 PM

Indiana University

13-15,6-12Big Ten

Ohio State

14-14,7-11Big Ten

Indiana

Ohio St.

11/24/2024 10:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

COLUMBUS, Ohio. – All the momentum was on the side of the Indiana Volleyball team (13-15, 6-12 B1G) early in game four. But from there on out, Ohio State's fifth-year senior opposite Emily Londot took over the match – helping the Buckeyes to a five-set win (25-19, 23-25, 22-25, 25-17, 15-7) at the Covelli Center on Sunday (Nov. 24) evening.

Junior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles did her best to keep the visiting Hoosiers in the match, providing 23 kills on 64 swings (.266). Junior opposite Avry Tatum provided 14 kills but IU ran out of offensive options late in the match. Sophomore middle blocker Ava Vickers had eight kills while fifth-year senior Morgan Geddes chipped in seven.

IU had no defensive answers in sets four and five. Ohio State hit .833 in the deciding set five and committed just one error (11-1-12). Londot combined for 11 kills in the final two sets to help propel her team to victory on senior night in Columbus. Fellow fifth-year senior Rylee Rader had 13 kills and hit .550 for the match.

The Hoosiers were able to score points in different ways but couldn't get them down the stretch. IU had 60 kills and also racked up eight aces and 10 total team blocks. Senior setter Camryn Haworth had 49 assists, 15 digs, one ace, one block and three kills. IU racked up 32 attacking errors on 15 Ohio State team blocks.

Ohio State held the advantage in blocks (15.0-10.0), kills (64-60) and digs (81-61). IU was able to score more points from the service line but fell victim to 11 errors from the end line. This was the sixth-straight match between the two teams to go more than three sets. Three of those contests went the distance.

IU will close its season next weekend at Wilkinson Hall against Michigan (Wednesday) and Illinois (Friday). The Hoosiers will honor their seven seniors against on Friday evening. IU needs one more home win to finish with back-to-back 10-win home seasons for the first time since 1999-2000.

Set Breakdown
Set 1: Ohio State 25, Indiana 19
The Buckeyes got everything they wanted in the opening set on Sunday afternoon. The home team hit .444 (15-3-27), committing just three attacking errors. All three errors came via blocks for IU with junior middle blocker Madi Sell and junior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles each chipping in two. IU got 13 kills in game one including six from Alonso-Corcelles. The Hoosiers had a pair of aces during their long run but Ohio State eventually pulled away for the 25-19 win.

• IU was tentative early in front of a big Ohio State crowd on senior night. The Buckeyes got big rips from opposite hitter Emily Londot and outside hitter Grace Egan to take an early 8-2 lead. Much to the displeasure of head coach Steve Aird, sophomore middle blocker Ava Vickers was called for an early lift on an attack. With the lead out to six (8-2), he called timeout to regroup the Hoosiers in the early going.

• A kill from senior outside hitter Mady Saris and an ace from sophomore setter Luca Fickell helped trim the lead to six (9-15). From there, the Hoosiers gave away points on a kill from Ohio State middle blocker Rylee Rader and an attacking error from Saris. Aird was forced into his final timeout with the lead ballooned to eight.

• After Londot terminated to make it a 10-point lead (21-11), the Hoosiers reeled off an 8-0 run with sophomore libero Ramsey Gary at the line. Alonso-Corcelles had a pair of kills and also got involved on two blocks with Sell to close the gap to just three (18-21).

• The Hoosiers had the momentum back but couldn't capitalize on the opportunity. Ohio State responded with three points to force set point. Alonso-Corcelles had one kill to stop the celebration but freshman outside hitter Emmi Sellman took a big rip off the IU block to win the set 25-19 for the home team.

Set 2: Indiana 25, Ohio State 23
Facing a 2-0 deficit at the Covelli Center, IU dug deep and found some late points to win game two. IU rattled off a 6-1 run to close the set and level the match. The Hoosiers held Ohio State to just a .132 hitting percentage (12-7-38) in the second set. Londot had just one kill with two errors on nine swings. Alonso-Corcelles and junior opposite hitter Avry Tatum combined on nine kills. IU benefited from 17 digs and some late rallies to win set two 25-23.

• It was another slow start for the Hoosiers, getting down by three after attacking errors from Tatum and Saris. Alonso-Corcelles got IU out of a hole and closed the gap to one with a roll shot to beat the defense to the floor. Sell and senior setter Camryn Haworth got hands in front of Egan for a block to tie the set at 9-all.

• Haworth aced Ohio State libero Olivia Hasbrook on a massive top-spin jump serve for IU's first lead of the night (11-10). The lead quickly disappeared as self-inflicted mistakes continued to rack up. Alonso-Corcelles and Sell each took swings that resulted in Ohio State points. The lead went to 15-12 for the Buckeyes at the media timeout on a kill from Rader.

• With the lead trimmed to one (19-20), IU had a chance to level the set at 20-all. Tatum sent a shot wide on a long rally before freshman middle blocker Ella Boersema was denied on a quick set from Haworth. Aird was quick to burn his second timeout as the deficit grew to three (19-22).

• IU responded with a 6-1 run out of the break. Alonso-Corcelles recorded a kill out of the timeout and then served four-straight points to take a 23-22 lead. After Rader leveled the set, Tatum converted on an outstanding cut shot past the Ohio State block. Fifth-year senior outside hitter Morgan Geddes tapped down an overpass for the 25-23 set win on the next point.

Set 3: Indiana 25, Ohio State 22
The Hoosiers had their best offensive set of the night in game three, racking up 18 kills on 15 assists from Haworth. Both teams hit .267 in game three but IU had the advantage in kills (18-11). Three aces canceled out a three-block advantage from the Buckeyes. Alonso-Corcelles had six kills and continued to roll offensively. Geddes and Tatum each chipped in four kills to close the set out late.

• The trend of slow starts to sets continued in game three. Sellman terminated on back-to-back kills to take an early 8-4 lead. The Hoosiers quickly corrected that trend with Haworth helping IU to a 4-0 run. Sell recorded a kill in transition to level things at 8-all and force Ohio State to a timeout.
• Vickers had a solo block on a roll shot from Egan to give IU the lead at 13-12. The Hoosiers wouldn't trail the rest of the way and opened up a lead as big as four (18-14) after a kill from Alonso-Corcelles. Ohio State went on a 7-3 run and received a kill from Londot to tie the set at 21-all.

• Tatum came up clutch out of a timeout from Aird. She had a kill and then earned a service ace on miscommunication from the Buckeyes. Ohio State setter Mia Tuman was called for an attacking error after an illegal back row attack. Alonso-Corcelles finished off the set with a kill to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Set 4: Ohio State 25, Indiana 17
The Hoosiers had an early chance to finish off the Buckeyes but again succumbed to self-inflicted mistakes. Ohio State turned up the pressure defensively and in serve receive. IU had just 10 kills in game four and fell into too big of a hole to come back. Londot began to take over and tallied up eight of her 20 kills in the fourth set. Haworth had eight digs, part of IU's 22. The Hoosiers also had three blocks but couldn't find enough offense.

• An early chance to blow the set open was squandered by IU. The Hoosiers scored the first two points but then had back-to-back attacking errors on freeball attempts from Tatum and Geddes. Vickers was denied by a big Ohio State block and the Buckeyes took the lead at 3-2.

• A kill from Londot handed the Buckeyes a 4-3 lead and they would never look back. The lead ballooned to five (13-8). on an open-net kill from Rader before Aird reached into his pocket for his first timeout. The advantage was out to seven (18-11) when he used his second timeout of the set.

• IU had a late run to trim the deficit to just seven (15-22) on a block from Sell and Tatum. But that didn't affect Ohio State as it closed out the fourth set 25-17. Londot had her eight kill of frame on set point to force a fifth game at the Covelli Center.

Set 5: Ohio State 15, Indiana 7
The Hoosiers never got off the ground in game five and allowed Ohio State to run away with the deciding set. Ohio State hit a blistering .833 (11-1-12) to blow things open early. The Hoosiers had one block but didn't dig a single ball in game five. Londot and Sellman combined for eight kills on eight errorless swings. Alonso-Corcelles had two kills out of the back row but IU had zero answers as Ohio State finished off the match on its senior night.

• IU got off to another bad start but got a break as Aird one a crucial challenge. The two teams replayed a point when it was ruled that the referees blew the whistle too early on the proceeding rally. IU didn't take advantage as Haworth sailed her attacking long to give the Buckeyes a 6-2 lead.

• The lead ballooned out to six after kills from Londot and middle blocker Eloise Brandewie. Sell had a big solo block on Rader to get the deficit to four (7-11). But IU continued to have no answers in the fifth set. Sellman had a part in the final four points with three kills and a block to win the match for Ohio State.

Top Hoosier Performers
#3 Alonso-Corcelles, Candela
23 kills, 5 digs, 2 blocks, 2 aces, 50 receptions (0 errors)

#13 Tatum, Avry
14 kills, 3 blocks, 5 digs

#1 Sell, Madi
6 blocks, 6 digs, 1 ace, 3 kills

Notes to Know
• Junior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles was outstanding for the Hoosiers on Sunday night. She provided 23 kills – one short of her career high – with five digs, two aces, two blocks and two assists. She took 64 swings – one off her career high – and passed 50 balls in reception (season high) with zero errors.

• Alonso-Corcelles stepped up to the occasion this weekend with 43 kills in two matches (20 – UCLA, 23 – Ohio State). She had just nine attacking errors on 101 swings and hit a collective .336. This is the second time in her career she's had back-to-back 20-kill matches. She last did it against Minnesota and Maryland on Nov. 12 and Nov. 17, 2023)

• Senior setter Camryn Haworth had a season high 15 digs on top of the 49 assists she contributed. It was the eighth 15+ dig match of her career and the first this year. Seven different Hoosiers had at least five digs in the match.

• For the ninth time this season, IU recorded double-digit blocks (10.0). Junior middle blocker Madi Sell had a hand in six rejections while junior opposite hitter Avry Tatum contributed three. Ironically, the Hoosiers are just 5-4 in matches where the team records 10+ blocks.

• The Hoosiers had 60+ kills for the first time since Nov. 1 (at Rutgers) and just the fourth time this season. On the other side of things, IU committed a season high 32 attacking errors. It was the most attacking errors by the program since conceding 34 in a five-set loss to Maryland on Nov. 25, 2022.

• Ohio State and Indiana are 3-3 against each other over the past three seasons. All six of those contests have gone at least four sets with three of them going the distance. The seven points scored in game five were the fewest in a deciding set since Nov. 16, 2017 (vs. Purdue).