Volleyball Impact – Boersema is Back and Rocking for Surging Hoosiers
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Ella Boersema is back, from injury, from doubt, from the uncertainty that comes when something you’ve done most of your life is taken away.
Consider this snapshot Indiana volleyball moment when the 6-foot-2 Boersema, now a third-year middle blocker, unleashes a shot no one could have stopped, certainly not the UCLA Bruins at a rocking Wilkinson Hall last Thursday night.
UCLA serves, the ball is dug and set to Boersema, positioned on the right side of the court. Her kill is one of 10 she has in the No. 18 Hoosiers’ three-set sweep.
Consider another snapshot moment, this time during Saturday night’s sweep of Maryland, when Boersma ends the second set win with a block assist along with fifth-year opposite hitter Avry Tatum. Boersema adds a team-high 11 kills (on a .667 hitting percentage), giving her 116 for the season and 34 in her last three matches.
She has six career double-digit kill performances, all this season. She ranks second on the team in kills to second-year standout Jaidyn Jager’s 153. She also has 37 blocks, second on IU to fifth-year middle blocker Kiki Granberry’s 44.
It reflects Boersema’s strong start to the season, highlighted by an elite early September stretch that featured a 12-block, four-dig effort against Georgia and a 21-kill, six-block performance against No. 12 Texas A&M, the defending champion.
It all affirms that Boersema is back to the form that saw her average 1.76 kills per set and 1.40 blocks per set in 14 games last season before a lower leg injury ended her season.
The journey to get back here, she says, wasn’t easy.
“There was some doubt. I had it in my head when I was doing certain moves, like blocking or running a slide. That was what got me injured. I had that doubt, but I overcame it. I don’t have it any more.”
The result -- Boersema is a catalyst on a team that has opened 2-0 in the Big Ten, 9-2 overall with a seven-match winning streak.
“She’s been spectacular at times,” head coach Steve Aird says. “The Georgia and Texas A&M week showed she can play at the highest level with anyone in the country, even at a new position.
“There have been some ups and downs, but her numbers have been great.
“She’s just a team kid. Whatever we ask her to do, she’s going to do it.”
Credit a background that includes earning Indiana all-state honors at Churubusco High School while honing her skills under three-time volleyball Olympian Lloy Ball (talented enough to have once been offered a basketball scholarship by IU Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight) with Team Pineapple Volleyball Club.
“Physically, she had a bad injury last year,” Aird says. “She came back really hard and worked really hard. That’s shown.
“She’s another one of these players that coming into the year, we were going to need contributions from. She’s done a really nice job of playing the part.”
Boersema previously thrived at middle blocker, then shifted to the right side this season, with similar success. She credits second-year setter Teodora Krickovic, who ranks among the best in the nation at her position.
“She locates the ball really well,” Boersema says, “so it’s been easier to transition than I thought it would be. I like the new opportunity to be at a different position where my team needs me.”
Still, there were challenges.
“It’s a lot different (than middle blocker),” Boersema says. “The blocking is a lot different because in the middle, you’re trying to get to both sides, and on the right side, you only have one job. That’s probably the biggest difference. It’s still something I’m working on. Having only one job, I have to capitalize on it.”
Beyond volleyball, the teaching profession beckons, specifically kindergarten.
“I like working with the young kids,” she says. “I want to be that person who starts them off on their school journey. Be the teacher who can teach them the alphabet, which is something they’ll need for the rest of their lives.
“I think it’s super important to work with the young kids and build them up and build their confidence, too.”
Many elite college athletes have professional playing aspirations. Boersema, with two more years of eligibility, does not.
“I’m ready to teach and move on with my life.”
For now, Boersema focuses on team success. Prospects were boosted by the return of the 6-foot-2 Tatum, an honorable mention All-American last season. She was granted eligibility to begin the conference season last week.
Tatum made her season debut against Maryland, totaling 10 kills and a career-high-tying six blocks from the right side, allowing Boersema to move back to the middle.
Aird later post, “It’s great to have No. 13 (Tatum) back.”
Next up is Thursday night’s match at No. 6 Wisconsin.
“We’re going pretty well right now,” Boersema says. “We have to continue what we’re doing and even take it up a peg.
“Every team in the Big Ten is good. We have to have a consistent mindset.”
