Indiana volleyball defeated Ohio State 3-1 on Sunday at Wilkinson Hall. This win brings the Hoosiers to 13-3 overall and 6-2 in Big Ten play. The victory marked Indiana’s fifth straight win at home this season. Under head coach Steve Aird, IU has climbed the conference rankings and shown they can compete against some of the top programs.
For both teams, the match was slow offensively. The Buckeyes and the Hoosiers hit under .225 and the action came from the defensive skills of both teams. Indiana picked up the efficiency and capitalized on Ohio State’s mistakes. Defensively, IU landed nine blocks and forced 23 attacking errors from OSU.
Ohio State has struggled to find consistency this season, currently 3-13 overall and 0-8 in Big Ten. Despite this, the Buckeyes held their own against the Hoosiers and had matched their stats pretty evenly. IU had 47 kills compared to OSU 45, and Indiana had 22 service errors while Ohio State had 23. Ohio State’s strong start with balanced attacks kept the match close before they gave up too many costly points.
Indiana’s top scorer was once again freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager, who landed 16 kills for the Hoosiers. Jager has been a core part of Indiana’s offense and has made a strong presence for herself in the Big Ten, having previously been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
The Buckeyes took the second set because of Indiana’s errors and inconsistent passing. Indiana cleaned it up in the final two sets to close out the match. After dropping set two, Indiana showed its resilience and responded to the lost set with new energy. On top of Indiana’s 25 kills, Ohio State had 14 service errors in the final two sets that let the Hoosiers win the game.
The match was also a historic game for senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum who earned her 1,000 career kill. It was also her 100th collegiate match where she proved how she is a consistently high scorer and added 10 kills for Indiana. She provides hitting efficiency and a strong presence on the front row. Tatum landed five block assists to help Indiana’s defensive flow, and her milestone at the match showed her leadership and reliability.
Indiana is now 23rd in the D1 Women’s Volleyball standings and will stay in Bloomington to take on its upcoming Big Ten match against No. 20 Minnesota on Friday. With confidence building and a powerful home record, the Hoosiers will look to continue building upon one of their best seasons in recent history.
