The Indiana Hoosiers faced Wisconsin, the Goliath of college volleyball, on Sunday afternoon in Madison, but were unable to pull off the upset, losing in straight sets.
FIRST SET
Wisconsin, the No. 1 team in the country, came out strong in the first set and there was nothing the Hoosiers could do to stop them. The Badgers came out with a 3-0 lead and Indiana was never able to catch up, falling 25-13 in the set.
Attacking errors, accompanied by two service errors, plagued the Hoosiers early on, with a total of 10 attacking errors in the first set. Avry Tatum, the sophomore transfer from Cincinnati, accounted for half of them.
Wisconsin’s 6-foot-9 junior Anna Smrek, who averages 2.51 kills per set, totaled five kills and a block assist in the first set. She came in with a fire, taking a swing on almost every set — and sometimes not even waiting for the set. Camryn Haworth fought to keep the Hoosiers alive with a few big plays late in the set, but Indiana had fallen too far behind.
SECOND SET
The second set came down to the wire, but Wisconsin escaped with a 25-23 win. Through the first two sets, Indiana committed 20 errors to Wisconsin’s three.
The Hoosiers took their first lead of the set and the match at 3-2, but were never able to regain it. Indiana was able to keep the set tight all the way to the end, with five kills from Morgan Geddes and a few big kills from Candela Alonso-Corcelles keeping Indiana alive. They had success when pushing the ball to the outside, past the Badgers defenders.
The Hoosiers trailed 23-24 at the end of the set, but strong serving wasn’t enough to stop the Badgers’ backcourt and a kill from Smrek sealed the win for Wisconsin.
THIRD SET
The third set was more of the same, as the Hoosiers lost 25-18. Wisconsin showcased its impressive serving, as the set featured five aces from the Badgers.
Wisconsin was able to pull away fairly early on, taking a 9-4 lead. The Hoosiers clawed their way back into the set, trailing by just two towards the middle of the set. A three-point run from the Badgers secured their fate, though, as Wisconsin led by seven at 19-12 and held the Hoosiers off for the rest of the game.
TAKEAWAYS
Although the Hoosiers lost in straight sets, in the latter two, Indiana never fell out of the game against the No. 1 team in the country. Particularly in the second, IU could’ve easily stolen the set.
The Hoosiers committed 25 errors in the match on Sunday. They were facing a tough opponent, but they’re going to have to clean some of that up and focus on consistency in their attack if they want to compete in Big Ten play.
It doesn’t get easier from here. Indiana will head home for a weekend of conference play, facing Iowa (8-5) on Friday night and No. 2 Nebraska (10-0) on Saturday night. Six Big Ten teams currently hold spots in the AVCA Top 25, so conference play will undoubtedly test the Hoosiers.
KEY STATS
Morgan Geddes led the Hoosiers in kills with 10 in Sunday’s match. Geddes hit .192 and committed five errors.
The Hoosiers couldn’t stop Smrek, who hit .389 with 10 kills and two blocks.
Kaley Rammelsburg added seven kills for the Hoosiers on .294 hitting.
Camryn Haworth totaled two kills and 30 assists.
Two of Wisconsin’s players hit over .400, with Devyn Robinson hitting .467 with nine kills and Sarah Franklin hitting .429 with just as many.
