The No. 18 Indiana Hoosiers took down the UCLA Bruins this evening in four sets, winning 27-25, 25-19 and 25-21.
In the first set, Indiana jumped out to an early 7-1 thanks to two kills each from Ella Boersema and Jaidyn Jager, forcing UCLA to burn an early timeout. UCLA responded right after the break, cutting the deficit to one at 9-8 thanks to multiple kills from Maggie Li. Indiana punched right back, increasing the lead to three at 11-8.
Kills from Kiki Granberry and Boersema made the score 14-11, but from there on, UCLA started to take control. The Bruins held a 22-20 lead thanks to strong play at the net from Marianna Singletary and continued to add on as the set neared completion, putting the Hoosiers on the brink with a 24-23 lead.
After an Indiana timeout, however, the Hoosiers found another gear. Teodora Kričković facilitated the offense exceptionally, and coupled with UCLA errors, the Hoosiers held a 26-25 lead. On the set point, a great setup from Kričković on a Boersema kill sealed the set for the Hoosiers, winning 27-25.
In the second set, Indiana jumped out to an early 3-1 lead thanks to three consecutive aces from Kričković. Boersema pushed the lead to 5-1 after a kill at the net, but UCLA punched right back, cutting the deficit to 6-5 and forcing IU head coach Steve Aird to take an early timeout.
The Hoosiers responded, with a Boersema ace making the score 9-6. They continued to dominate, pushing the score to 13-8 and forcing the Bruins to take a timeout. Errors from UCLA pushed the score to 15-8 favoring the Hoosiers, UCLA got some contributions from Brooke Harwood and Singletary, but Indiana never gave up the lead.
A kill from Granberry made the score 23-18, and a Kričković ace punctuated a strong second set for the Hoosiers, winning 25-19.
In the third set, the Hoosiers jumped out to another early lead thanks to kills by Sara Snowbarger and Jager. UCLA crawled back to make the score 10-8 favoring the Hoosiers, but Indiana stayed in front for the entire set.
A thunderous kill from Jager made the score 13-8, igniting a reaction from the Hoosier faithful and forcing a UCLA timeout. The Hoosiers continued to dominate right after, and a Snowbarger kill capped off an impressive effort overall on the night. Indiana won the third set 25-21, completing the sweep.
Indiana continued to do an excellent job cutting down service errors, and coach Steve Aird made notice of it in his press conference.
“I want to keep making good solid plays a lot as opposed to a cornucopia of wild stuff,” he said.
The Hoosiers have now won six in a row, and are back at Wilkinson Hall on Saturday as they take on the Maryland Terrapins. First serve is set for 7 p.m as Indiana looks to pick up another Big Ten win.
