Up by seven in the fourth set against Purdue, Indiana freshman libero Ramsey Gary serves the ball on match point.
As the ball remains in play, Indiana junior setter Camryn Haworth pops the ball up in the air to create the assist opportunity for her teammates. Sophomore blocker Avry Tatum slams the ball down for the kill to end the set and the match.
For the first time in 10 years, 11 months, three weeks, six days and 21 matches, Indiana volleyball defeated No. 15 Purdue at Wilkinson Hall on Wednesday night.
“This isn’t real,” Tatum, the Cincinnati transfer, said. “I looked at everyone and said, ‘Did this just happen?’”
Before this match, the Hoosiers had never beaten a ranked team at Wilkinson Hall since the arena’s debut in 2019, per a release. The Hoosiers were able to secure their first ranked win at home in front of a record-breaking 2,725 fans, surpassing the previous record of 2,632 fans set on Sept. 30 against No. 2-ranked Nebraska.
“I thought the environment was amazing,” Indiana head coach Steve Aird said. “When I took the job, I had a belief that we could have a night like this where the community, the student section was a giant party, and we had a team that was good enough to leave and be happy.”
The win over No. 15 Purdue was Aird’s fourth ranked victory of his career with Indiana, following No. 14 Kentucky on Sept. 14, 2019, No. 25 Michigan on Oct. 21, 2022 and No. 5 Ohio State on Nov. 5, 2022.
Although the Hoosiers were outhit in the first match, they capitalized on six Boilermaker service errors to stay competitive throughout the frame. Down 15-12 at the media timeout, the Hoosiers were able to level the match at 20 apiece after an attack error from Purdue sophomore outside hitter Eva Hudson. Senior outside hitter Morgan Geddes and sophomore outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles rattled off two kills to win the first set of the night 25-23 for the 1-0 lead.
The Boilermakers came with the firepower for the second set, hitting a season best .429 during the frame. Though the Hoosiers would cut the lead to one, the Boilermakers went on an 8-1 run to win the second set 25-17 and level the match at 1-1.
Indiana would respond to win the third set 25-16 with a dominant showing from Haworth at the serving line with three aces throughout the set. She recorded 40 assists, nine digs and eight kills while also setting the pace for an offense that hit .281 on Wednesday night.
“At a certain point, Camryn decided to shift into All-American Camryn,” Aird said. “She went into a different place.”
After Haworth’s third ace put the Hoosiers up 21-15, Tatum rattled off an ace and another point in the set to give the Hoosiers a comfortable 23-15 lead. Alonso-Corcelles put the set away with a kill.
In the fourth set, Indiana’s offense came alive and hit .310 in the frame. Purdue kept Indiana’s lead in the set to as low as three points before graduate student Kaley Rammelsberg notched a kill to regenerate the momentum for Indiana. Tatum recorded the final kill of the night with an assist from Haworth to win the battle the set 25-17 of the Monon Spike.
The Hoosiers improved to 14-6 on the season, their best 20-game start to a season since 2010. The 4-3 Big Ten record is the best start to a Big Ten season since 1993.
Indiana’s next match will be at 7 p.m. on Saturday against Michigan at Wilkinson Hall.
“I think this is just a step forward to what we harp on at every single practice,” Tatum said. “I’m excited to see what the rest of the season has for us.”
