Balanced Attack Leads Hoosier Sweep

Friday, August 30

Kennesaw, Ga.

7:00 PM

Indiana University

1-0,0-0Big Ten

Kennesaw State

0-2,0-0CUSA

Indiana

Kennesaw St.

8/30/2024 9:25:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

KENNESAW, Ga. - Led by the electric right arm of junior opposite hitter Avry Tatum, the Indiana Volleyball team (1-0, 0-0) rolled to a straight-sets victory (25-18, 25-22, 25-16) against Kennesaw State on Friday (Aug. 30) night.

The Hoosiers hit .420 as a collective team (47-13-81), the seventh-best team hitting percentage in the rally era and the best since hitting .500 against Radford in August of 2023. Tatum led the way with 16 kills (.778) with senior outside hitter Mady Saris (11-3-22, .364) and junior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles (10-3-18, .389) each supplying double-digit kills

Senior setter Camryn Haworth ran an efficient offense with 39 kills in just three sets. Six different players had kills including junior middle blocker Madi Sell (five kills) and freshman middle blocker Ella Boersema (three kills).

IU struggled to find consistency at the service line until the final set. The Hoosiers tallied eight aces but also committed 14 errors from the end line. Alonso-Corcelles, Tatum and sophomore libero Ramsey Gary each had two-or-more aces. 13 of the 14 service errors came in the first two sets with the team settling down by the final frame.

The Hoosiers fell victim to eight reception errors on the night as passing became a problem in the middle of the match. IU settled in as the match went on with just one error in serve-receive in the final set. Gary and freshman defensive specialist Emma Segal were each served 11 times.

It will be a quick turnaround for IU as it attempts to finish the weekend in Kennesaw with a 2-0 record. It will meet Wichita State at 11:00 AM on Saturday morning to close out the stay down south.

Set Breakdown
Set 1: Indiana 25, Kennesaw State 18
Despite a bit of a struggle at the service line, the Hoosiers rolled in the opening set. IU made just one attacking error and hit .538 in the first frame. Mady Saris had six kills and Candela Alonso-Corcelles provided four while Camryn Haworth dished out 12 assists. IU had four aces but committed seven service errors.

• Alonso-Corcelles provided a good run of serve to open up a big lead. Three service errors in six-straight attempts gave the Hoosiers a comfortable 12-5 lead.

• Kennesaw State closed the gap with a pair of aces while serving Saris in the back row. Head coach Steve Aird took a timeout to talk things over. IU responded well with the lead never getting lower than two points for the visitors the rest of the way.

Set 2: Indiana 25, Kennesaw State 22
IU fell behind in a big hole early as the serve-receive game continued to be a problem. It committed six service errors and was aced five times in the second set, conceding 11 points on errors from the end line. A strong run late, led by Ramsey Gary, gave IU a victory in the middle frame.

• Kennesaw State's Kourtney Brown opened the frame up with some pressure in front of Gary and Emma Segal. The Owls went up by four before Aird took his first timeout of the frame.

• Kennesaw State closed the gap with a pair of aces while serving Saris in the back row. Head coach Steve Aird took a timeout to talk things over. IU responded well with the lead never getting lower than two points for the visitors the rest of the way.

• IU went down by four again after an unsuccessful challenge. The Hoosiers responded nicely with a pair of kills from Alonso-Corcelles and Saris to even the scoring. Down 19-21, Gary served IU back into it with four-straight points. Tatum finished off things with a pair of kills down the stretch.

Set 3: Indiana 25, Kennesaw State 16
The Hoosiers found some rhythm in the third set, cruising to a comfortable 25-16 win. The offense hit at a .462 clip while the defense dug 10 balls and committed just one reception error. Kennesaw State was kept out of system, limited to just nine kills at a .148 clip. Avry Tatum had eight kills in the third set.

• The Owls kept things close before Sade Ilawole opened up the gap at the service line. She extended the lead out to five points as IU began to find its groove.

• IU closed the set on an 11-6 run with Tatum becoming a strong force down the stretch. She finished the night with 16 kills including eight in the third frame.

Top Hoosier Performers
#10 Haworth, Camryn
39 assists, 2 kills, 3 digs

#13 Tatum, Avry
16 kills, 2 aces

#3 Alonso-Corcelles, Candela
10 kills, 3 aces, 5 digs

Notes to Know
• The Hoosiers hit .420 (47-13-81) as a team, the seventh-best single game team hitting percentage in the rally era at IU. It was the best that IU hit in a single match since a contest with Radford (.500) in August of 2023.

• Avry Tatum provided a match-high 16 kills on 18 swings. She hit .778 for the match, the highest individual hitting percentage (min. 12 kills) by an IU player in a season opener since 2010. Her 16 kills were her most since she had 17 in a win at Miami (Fla.) last September.

• IU has won four-consecutive season openers, last losing to No. 5 Nebraska in the spring COVID-19 season of 2021. The Hoosiers have won in straight sets to open the last four years, beating UIC (2021), Indiana State (2022), New Hampshire (2023) and Kennesaw State (2024) along the way.

• Haworth had 39 assists (13.0 p/s) to lead the Hoosiers on an effective offensive night. She's now got 2,901 for her career as she closes in on 3,000 as an IU player. Saris added 11 kills to move to 876 for her career as she closes in on 1,000 putaways.