The No. 18 Indiana Hoosiers swept the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday evening, winning 25-17, 25-18 and 25-20.
In the first set, Indiana jumped out to an early 4-1 lead thanks to early service errors from Maryland and a kill from Avry Tatum. Ella Boersema added two kills right after, extending the lead to 9-3. Teodora Kričković assisted Jaidyn Jager and Boersema on kills shortly after, bringing the lead to 13-6.
Attack errors from the Terrapins kept Maryland trailing the entire set, and a service mistake gave the Hoosiers a 15-7 lead heading into the media timeout. Out of the break, a kill from Kiki Granberry made the score 17-8 and forced Maryland to take a timeout. The Terrapins responded right away, cutting the lead to 17-11 after a block from Brooklynne Brass and a kill from Sara Toth.
The Hoosiers punched right back, with a kill from Sara Snowbarger and a block from Boersema pushing the lead to 19-11. The Hoosiers stayed in control for the rest of the set, and a kill from Jager at the end gave Indiana a 25-17 win in set one.
In the second set, Maryland errors gave Indiana an early 6-3 lead. A kill from Boersema pushed the score to 7-4 favoring the Hoosiers, and an ace from Emma Segal coupled with a long rally win punctuated by strong plays at the net from Boersema and Kričković made the score 9-4 and forced the Terrapins to take a timeout.
Out of the break, Maryland got right back into it thanks to kills from Brass and Toth, making the score 10-7 and forcing coach Steve Aird to take a timeout. The Hoosiers responded immediately, with kills from Kričković and Granberry making the score 12-8. A kill from Tatum pushed the score to 15-10, and the Hoosiers remained in control for the rest of the set.
Boersema and Snowbarger added on kills right out of the media timeout, making the score 18-11 and forcing Maryland to burn another timeout. Kills from Boersema and Granberry extended the lead, and a block from Tatum at the end punctuated a dominating set, giving the Hoosiers a 25-18 win.
In the third set, the Hoosiers jumped out to an early 4-1 lead thanks to a kill and ace from Kričković coupled with errors from the Terrapins. The lead was extended to 6-1 after a kill from Granberry and strong net play from Tatum and Granberry, forcing Maryland to take a timeout.
Indiana stayed in control, holding a 12-8 advantage after kills from Jager and Snowbarger. The Hoosiers took a 15-10 lead into the media timeout, and a kill from Boersema coupled with an ace from Avery Freeman forced the Terrapins to call their last timeout. Indiana kept the momentum out of the break, capping off the day with a 25-20 win in set three.
Indiana once again dominated from start to finish, capping off what has turned out to be an extremely strong showing this weekend. UCLA and Maryland are both solid teams in the conference, and sweeping both is definitely a statement the team was looking to make early on. The play at the net over the past couple of games has been excellent, and getting Tatum back into the fold is a big boost for this team.
“It was great seeing her back on the court and she had a good night,” coach Steve Aird said postgame. “She has been in my gym for three years and having her for an edge in big time matches is massive.”
Indiana is set to take on the No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers on Thursday. First serve is set for 9 p.m. EST in Madison, Wisconsin.
