50 Years of Volleyball at Indiana
8/27/2024 4:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
50 YEARS OF INDIANA VOLLEYBALL
The Indiana Volleyball program will play its 50th season as a varsity sport this fall, celebrating a continued commitment to excellence. One of the nation's fastest growing sports, women's volleyball has become appointment viewing for Big Ten fans across the country.
With the addition of four prestigious programs and an extremely competitive and successful squad, interest and support in volleyball in Bloomington is at an all-time high. The Hoosiers won 20+ matches in 2023 for the first time since 2010 and return a large core of its roster.
Continue to follow this page throughout the season for highlights, stories and notes from year's team and some of the best players in program history.
Q&A's
Caitlin (Cox) Bruin
50 Years
The Hoosiers head into the new season on the backs of one of the most successful campaigns in program history. IU returns its most recent All-American in senior setter Camryn Haworth and is also boosted with the return of All-Big Ten, sophomore libero Ramsey Gary.
In 50 seasons as a varsity sport, the Hoosiers have racked up over 750 wins and have made five appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Four different players have earned All-American honors with nine players taking First Team All-Big ten laurels.
Program Greats
Albeit trying to catch the likes of Wisconsin, Penn State and Nebraska in the conference, the Hoosiers have produced their fair share of successful athletes over the past 50 seasons.
Middle blocker, and Bloomington native, Ashley Benson was a two-time All-American and three-time First Team All-Big Ten selection. She is the program record holder in blocks (629) and hitting percentage (.339) by a wide margin. She is the only volleyball player in the Indiana Athletics Hall of Fame, joining her dad and former basketball player Kent Benson.
Erica Short, an electric outside hitter with a live arm, spent her latter years in Bloomington helping to train Benson as a program leader. Short produced a school record 1,889 kills including 554 in her senior season of 2008. She's the only player in team history with two seasons of 475+ kills.
Caitlin Cox, another player that overlapped in 2008, is by far the most succsseful libero in school history. She tallied 1,885 digs, 361 more than the next best in program history. The Indiana native was part of the 2010 Sweet 16 team, often considered the best season ever at IU.
Building Consistency in Bloomington
Head coach Steve Aird has slowly built this team to a place where it can compete with anyone in the league. Results will fluctuate, as they do for everyone. But the ability to play anyone at any time has boosted the Hoosiers to a new level of success.
The Hoosiers have beaten three ranked teams in the past two seasons including a true road win at No. 5 Ohio State in 2022. Over the past two seasons, IU has swept five teams in league play and been swept just seven times. The 20 combined conference wins between 2022-23 is the most since 1999-2000.
Recruiting over the next couple seasons will be at an all-time high but it's the likes of fifth-year senior Morgan Geddes, senior Camryn Haworth and sophomore libero Ramsey Gary that have paved the way for the next generation of Hoosiers.
This year will see IU face eight of the preseason AVCA top-25 teams for a total of nine times. That includes true road games at preseason No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 8 Purdue and No. 10 Oregon. Wilkinson Hall, which saw attendance records in 2023, will feature an electric array of opponents.
Alumni Weekend
The IU program will host its alumni weekend over a three-day period that features home volleyball matches against Purdue (Nov. 8) and USC (Nov. 10). Former players will also have the chance to interact and catch up with the team at a football game vs. Michigan (Nov. 9).
All interested former players should contact associate head coach Rachel Morris (raclmorr@iu.edu) to reserve their spot at the weekend's festivities. The Purdue match is expected to be another sold out contest.
Home Schedule
IU will host 15 home matches this season, the most since 2019. Included on the schedule are powerhouse programs Wisconsin, Penn State and USC as well as traditional rivals Purdue, Ohio State and Illinois. Five matches will come during the non-conference including three at the Indiana Invitational (Sept. 13-14).
Home Match Themes
The Indiana Volleyball program will play its 50th season as a varsity sport this fall, celebrating a continued commitment to excellence. One of the nation's fastest growing sports, women's volleyball has become appointment viewing for Big Ten fans across the country.
With the addition of four prestigious programs and an extremely competitive and successful squad, interest and support in volleyball in Bloomington is at an all-time high. The Hoosiers won 20+ matches in 2023 for the first time since 2010 and return a large core of its roster.
Continue to follow this page throughout the season for highlights, stories and notes from year's team and some of the best players in program history.
Q&A's
Caitlin (Cox) Bruin
50 Years
The Hoosiers head into the new season on the backs of one of the most successful campaigns in program history. IU returns its most recent All-American in senior setter Camryn Haworth and is also boosted with the return of All-Big Ten, sophomore libero Ramsey Gary.
In 50 seasons as a varsity sport, the Hoosiers have racked up over 750 wins and have made five appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Four different players have earned All-American honors with nine players taking First Team All-Big ten laurels.
Program Greats
Albeit trying to catch the likes of Wisconsin, Penn State and Nebraska in the conference, the Hoosiers have produced their fair share of successful athletes over the past 50 seasons.
Middle blocker, and Bloomington native, Ashley Benson was a two-time All-American and three-time First Team All-Big Ten selection. She is the program record holder in blocks (629) and hitting percentage (.339) by a wide margin. She is the only volleyball player in the Indiana Athletics Hall of Fame, joining her dad and former basketball player Kent Benson.
Erica Short, an electric outside hitter with a live arm, spent her latter years in Bloomington helping to train Benson as a program leader. Short produced a school record 1,889 kills including 554 in her senior season of 2008. She's the only player in team history with two seasons of 475+ kills.
Caitlin Cox, another player that overlapped in 2008, is by far the most succsseful libero in school history. She tallied 1,885 digs, 361 more than the next best in program history. The Indiana native was part of the 2010 Sweet 16 team, often considered the best season ever at IU.
Building Consistency in Bloomington
Head coach Steve Aird has slowly built this team to a place where it can compete with anyone in the league. Results will fluctuate, as they do for everyone. But the ability to play anyone at any time has boosted the Hoosiers to a new level of success.
The Hoosiers have beaten three ranked teams in the past two seasons including a true road win at No. 5 Ohio State in 2022. Over the past two seasons, IU has swept five teams in league play and been swept just seven times. The 20 combined conference wins between 2022-23 is the most since 1999-2000.
Recruiting over the next couple seasons will be at an all-time high but it's the likes of fifth-year senior Morgan Geddes, senior Camryn Haworth and sophomore libero Ramsey Gary that have paved the way for the next generation of Hoosiers.
This year will see IU face eight of the preseason AVCA top-25 teams for a total of nine times. That includes true road games at preseason No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 8 Purdue and No. 10 Oregon. Wilkinson Hall, which saw attendance records in 2023, will feature an electric array of opponents.
Alumni Weekend
The IU program will host its alumni weekend over a three-day period that features home volleyball matches against Purdue (Nov. 8) and USC (Nov. 10). Former players will also have the chance to interact and catch up with the team at a football game vs. Michigan (Nov. 9).
All interested former players should contact associate head coach Rachel Morris (raclmorr@iu.edu) to reserve their spot at the weekend's festivities. The Purdue match is expected to be another sold out contest.
Home Schedule
IU will host 15 home matches this season, the most since 2019. Included on the schedule are powerhouse programs Wisconsin, Penn State and USC as well as traditional rivals Purdue, Ohio State and Illinois. Five matches will come during the non-conference including three at the Indiana Invitational (Sept. 13-14).
Home Match Themes
Players Mentioned
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