Top Moments of 2025 Season
Top Moments of 2025 Season
With a roster full of talented freshmen and impactful seniors, the Indiana volleyball team enjoyed one of the best seasons in program history. The Hoosiers redefined expectations for volleyball in Bloomington, setting the stage for a new era of success in the Big Ten.
Despite being picked 11th in the preseason conference poll, IU rolled to a 25-win campaign while breaking a program record for overall wins (25) and Big Ten wins (14). More importantly, IU’s seven freshmen got a taste of winning at a high level. With impact recruits and transfers on the way, head coach Steve Aird will hope that translates to future success at Wilkinson Hall.
There were too many important moments and performances to count throughout four months and 33 matches of volleyball. To recap the season, we broke down some of the small moments that made the season keep moving in the right direction. Stars are born in sports and we remember them forever.
Reverse Sweep in Season Opener
Aug. 29, 2025 – at (RV) Miami (Fla.) (W, 3-2)
On opening night of the season, IU quickly set the standard for how its team would compete at 2025. After going down 0-2 with four freshman starters, the Hoosiers rallied to pull off the program’s first reverse sweep in 10 years. Senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles contributed 20 kills to reach 1,000 for her career.
After taking a lead at 17-16 in set four on a kill from Alonso-Corcelles, IU never trailed again in the match. The Hoosiers closed out a tight fourth set behind seven kills from the senior. The decisive fifth set was all Hoosiers offensively. IU hit .381 with kills from five different players. The game set the tone for the record-breaking season. It was one of just two five-set matches on the whole year, both of them wins for head coach Steve Aird.
Jager Digs Deep in Big Ten Debut
Sept. 24, 2025 – at Northwestern (W, 3-1)
There are no easy nights on the road in the Big Ten. After wrapping up the non-conference slate, IU had to travel just three days later to face Northwestern at 9 p.m. in Evanston. For six freshmen in the match, it was their first career Big Ten contest. That didn’t seem to bother freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager from having a gutsy performance on the road.
With the match tied at 1-all following the second game, Jager flashed some of her gusty play in front of a national audience. The California native put up 11 kills over the final two sets, part of her match-high 17, to deliver IU its first Big Ten win of the year. She added nine digs, two blocks and an assist while passing 20 balls in serve receive.
IU began the conference season with five of its first six games on the road, making the Northwestern contest all that more important. That game kickstarted a run of five-straight matches in Big Ten play with at least 11 kills. The Hoosiers went 5-0 in all those contests.
Weekend to Remember in Los Angeles
Oct. 3, 2025 – at #17 USC (W, 3-1), Oct. 4, 2025 – at #24 UCLA (W, 3-1)
It was a road weekend that felt like a home weekend. Four players along with associate head coach Rachel Morris all grew up in California. Over 100 friends and family members made the trip to Los Angeles to cheer on the Hoosiers as they made a statement to the volleyball world.
In consecutive days, IU lost the first set to No. 17 USC and No. 24 UCLA in convincing fashion. As was the case all year, the Hoosiers kept chipping away. Senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum had one of her best performances of the season with 31 combined kills in the two matches and a hitting percentage north of .355.
Junior middle blocker Ava Vickers came off the bench against USC with four important kills and five massive blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Ella Boersema did the same at UCLA, answering the call off the bench with six blocks to put a top-25 road win to bed.
The pair of wins in California helped return the program to the AVCA top-25 for the first time since 2010. IU would never leave the rankings the rest of the year and finished the season ranked 13th in the country.
An Emotional Win in Happy Valley
Nov. 2, 2025 – at #19 Penn State (W, 3-0)
Head coach Steve Aird will tell you this – Penn State’s volleyball program made him. A former player with the men’s team and a graduate of the university, Happy Valley was home for Aird for over 10 years. But on the second night of November, his Hoosiers sent a shock through the volleyball world.
With his former teammate, assistant coach Kevin Hodge, by his side, IU earned its first-ever win at Rec Hall. IU went in to State College and left with a sweep of No. 19 Penn State. Freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager and senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum each had 14 kills. IU kept Penn State’s All-American opposite hitter to just 14 kills on a .250 hitting percentage.
It was just the second win over Penn State in program history, breaking a losing streak that dated back 15 years. The victory gave IU its third top-25 road win of the year, breaking a school record that Aird had set back in the 2022 campaign.
Fantastic Family Moments
Nov. 20, 2025 – vs. Rutgers (W, 3-0)
For the first time in her college career, senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles got to play in front of her family from Spain. Her mom, dad and sister made the trip from Madrid to watch the final four regular season matches of her career. They arrived in the first set as IU made quick work of Rutgers.
Alonso-Corcelles had 13 kills on a .545 hitting percentage as IU picked up its 13th Big Ten win of the season – breaking a single-season program record. After the match, she broke into tears as she saw her family for the first time in nearly a year.
The Spaniard would go on to break the program’s all-time wins record (77) the next week at Illinois. She left Bloomington with a college degree, as a top-15 pick in the MLV Draft and with the eighth-most kills (1,386) in program history.
We Keep Dancing
Dec. 5, 2025 – vs. #24 Colorado (W, 3-0)
For the first time in 15 years, IU played a tournament game with the right to advance to the NCAA regional semifinals. In front of nearly 2,000 fans, IU’s outside hitters put on a dominant display as the program swept fifth-seeded Colorado and advanced to the Sweet 16.
Senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles had 16 kills while freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager added 15 in the win. Senior middle blocker Madi Sell put up seven blocks in her final game in Bloomington. IU’s players rushed to celebrate with its student section while senior opposite Avry Tatum got to slap the advancing sticker on the bracket.
The win reiterated what head coach said when he took the job. IU has a chance to be nationally relevant. It gave the Hoosiers their first 25-win season in program history. That night will go down as one of the best in program history – so far.
The Next Step in the Journey
Dec. 12, 2025 – at #3 Texas (L, 0-3)
In front of a raucous crowd on ESPN, IU went toe-to-toe with top-seeded Texas at Gregory Gym in Austin. Texas’ All-American outside hitter Torrey Stafford went for 19 kills on 28 errorless swings. IU responded with 15 kills from its two middle blockers and 13 from senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles.
In the end, it wasn’t enough. Texas earned a tight sweep (25-20, 25-22, 25-22) to advance to the regional final on its home court. While the loss stung, that afternoon proved that IU was one of the best teams in the country. With 13 returning players from that team, it’s just the first step in a long journey.
