WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — After starting their season with a loss to No. 7 Louisville this past Friday, the Hoosiers got back on track with a win against Georgia in the Big Ten/SEC Challenge on Tuesday night. The final match score was 3-1, with Indiana winning in four sets 26-24, 25-22 and 25-17.
“I think we all learned about ourselves individually and what we needed,” sophomore Jaidyn Jager said, “…we really homed in on connecting with each other."
The Hoosiers, coming up on a crucial stretch of the season, had plenty of time to sit with and digest their loss to Louisville. A season can easily become derailed if you let the feelings of disappointing losses carry into future games. During practices in between games, the team made it a point to spend time building up their relationships and team chemistry.
“The biggest thing for me in terms of the match and the last few days was how rough the Louisville match was for us,” head coach Steve Aird said. “… the ability of the team and the leadership to not get spastic or frantic after one match and to get their bearings around them and train hard for a couple of days showed a lot of maturity.”
Coming into their matchup against the Georgia Bulldogs in West Lafayette, the Hoosiers’ days of practice paid off. It was an all-around team effort against the Bulldogs with Indiana seizing a 3-1 victory. Indiana looked like a complete unit against Georgia as it seemed like everyone on the team played a part in securing the victory.
Teodora Krickovic was the engine for the offense as she posted the unbelievable stat line of 50 assists on the night. She spread the ball throughout the offense with Jager (19), Ella Boersema (12) and Sara Snowbarger (10) leading the way in kills. This all-around team effort is a huge step in the right direction. The communication and energy amongst one another in this game were a night-and-day difference compared to when we played Louisville.
“I think the communication was really good for the past four to five days we had with practice,” Krickovic said. “We were really specific with what we wanted to work on and what we were deficient in.”
This statement remains true for the Indiana Hoosiers as their record now, after Georgia, is 1-1. During this match against Georgia, Teodora was only eight assists away from breaking the IU record of 41 assists, set by Whitney Granado. Momentum is a key ingredient for these Hoosiers, and the communication in rotation and determination was silencing Georgia, allowing these Hoosiers to make a run for it.
It's safe to say Indiana did exactly what they needed to do these past few days in practice to make the adjustments necessary to match 2025’s historic season.
“You're not going to go undefeated on the year, you're just not, so how you respond and how you bounce back is really the entire thing,” Aird said.
Indiana stayed hungry and matched the energy they promised for the 2026 season, but the battle isn't over yet.
“We are grateful for Purdue to host, and I'm excited about tomorrow,” Aird said.
It's an uphill battle, a true test of grit for these Hoosiers as they make their way back to West Lafayette. They’re set to face No. 12 Texas A&M at 5 p.m. Wednesday, a crucial showdown that will prove if they have what it takes to climb to the top. These Hoosiers are locked in with a winning mentality, absolutely fired for this next game, and undeniably hungry to fight tooth and nail in this Big Ten/SEC Challenge. Every player is focused, determined, and ready to leave everything on the court. Indiana understands that this is their moment to shine and carve their own legacy for the 2026 season.
