Photo credit: @IndianaVB/X
Indiana dropped their first two games of Big Ten play as they were swept by Washington 3-0 on Friday night and were defeated three sets to one by No. 11 Oregon on Saturday night.
The Hoosiers took a cross-country trip over the past couple of days where they squared off against brand-new Big Ten foes Washington and Oregon, respectively. Their first game was in Seattle against the Huskies, where Washington largely dominated throughout the match and won in straight sets over the Hoosiers.
The first game against Washington was not particularly close, as a litany of errors and poor execution doomed the Hoosiers. Indiana committed 11 attacking errors and were blocked ten times throughout the night, as Washington just always seemed to be one step ahead of the Hoosiers. The Huskies took the first set 25-18, and while Indiana was able to fight back and get the set to within two points, Washington then exploded offensively and rode their momentum to eventually earn the seven-point win.
In the second set, things were slightly more competitive, as Indiana took a 13-11 lead about halfway through the set, but another Washington offensive explosion helped them earn a 25-20 victory in the set, as it was another tough outing for the Hoosiers' defense. In the third set, Indiana had one more chance to push the match to a fourth set, but the Huskies simply proved to be too much, as they took a 13-7 lead and never really looked back, winning the set and match.
With that, the Hoosiers turned their attention to a road contest with No. 11 Oregon in Eugene. This time, Indiana showed much more fight than they had in the Washington game. They did end up losing the match 3-1, but they gave the Ducks everything they could handle. The Hoosiers went up by as many as four points in the first set before Oregon stormed back and tied the game as the set approached its end. A clutch block from Candela Alonso-Corcelles, who continues to have a white-hot start to the year, had the Hoosiers within striking distance of a set win.
However, Oregon showed why they were a top-15 team in the country and went on a mini-run to secure a one-point set win. In the second set, things again were mightily competitive. Indiana jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and looked to keep their momentum going, but Oregon threw a punch right back and took a 14-10 lead soon afterward. The Ducks kept their momentum going as they held a 20-17 lead and looked to ride out the rest of the set, but a kill from Mady Saris, one of her eleven on the night, kept the Hoosiers from going anywhere.
However, in what seemed to be a story of the night for Indiana, Oregon again stormed back and, despite a valiant effort from the Hoosiers, narrowly escaped with a 27-25 win in the second set, and now found themselves one set away from winning the match.
The Hoosiers wouldn't go down that easily, though, as Indiana finally managed to best the Ducks and take home the third set to extend the match. It initially didn't exactly look that way, as Oregon took a 14-8 lead, and being swept for the second consecutive night looked to be a real possibility for Indiana. However, the Hoosiers had an offensive explosion of their own and stormed back, eventually taking a 22-20 lead before going on a miniature 3-1 scoring run to take the third set 25-21.
That seemed to ignite a fire in the Ducks in the next set, however, as they seemed determined to show why they are one of the top teams in the country. The fourth set was never particularly close, as Indiana fell behind early and could never really recover. Oregon largely dominated the fourth set, as they went up by as many as seven points and never looked back. Indiana did make things a little more interesting when they narrowed the Ducks' lead to 21-19 as the set approached its conclusion, but by the time it was over, the Hoosiers found themselves on the losing end. Indiana dropped the fourth set by a score of 25-21, as they were unable to come out on top despite giving the No. 11 Ducks everything they had. With the losses, the Hoosiers drop to 7-5 on the season and they start off 0-2 in Big Ten play.
Indiana will look to reverse that trend when they are back in action on Friday as they return to Wilkinson Hall to take on Michigan State.
