Hoosiers Knock off Defending Champ No. 12 Texas A&M, Go 2-0 in B1G/SEC Challenge

The Indiana Hoosiers (2-1) rebounded from a season-opening loss at Louisville in the biggest way. IU beat Georgia on Tuesday evening 3-0 and knocked off No. 12 Texas A&M in five sets to go 2-0 in the inaugural Big Ten-SEC Challenge.

Wednesday evening presented a great opportunity for the Hoosiers to start to build their NCAA Tournament resume. Head coach Steve Aird was not shy when putting together IU’s 2026 non-conference schedule and Wednesday night was a big win for the Hoosiers.

IU knocked off the defending champs in a five-set thriller (26-24, 26-28, 25-23, 17-25, 15-9). It is Aird’s fifth top-15 win at IU.

Notes from IU

• Third-year opposite hitter Ella Boersema exploded for a career-high 21 kills, topping her previous high for the second night in a row. She hit .471 (21-5-34) on the night and added six blocks and three digs in the win. Second-year outside hitter Jaidyn Jager provided 17 kills while second-year setter Teodora Krickovic added seven kills of her own.
• Third-year defensive specialist Emma Segal provided three important aces while third-year setter Sade Ilawole went on a big service run of her own. Three different players had 10-or-more digs, helping the Hoosiers to an advantage (59-48) in the category.

Indiana Knock off Georgia 3-0 in Game 1

Recap from IUHoosiers.com:

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Things started to click late in game four. Some late rips from second-year outside hitter Jaidyn Jager and great decision-making from second-year setter Teodora Kričković was the deciding factor in a 3-1 (26-24, 25-22, 22-25, 25-17) win for the Indiana volleyball team (1-1, 0-0 B1G) over Georgia on Tuesday (Sept. 1) evening at Mackey Arena.

IU’s offense found its footing in the fourth set, hitting a game-high .375 (16-4-32) to ice the first win of the season away. Jager led the team with 19 kills while third-year opposite hitter Ella Boersema (12) and first-year outside hitter Sara Snowbarger (10) joined her in double digits with respective career highs. Boersema hit .667 on the night with zero errors on 18 attempts. Kričković dished out 50 assists in just four sets.

The Hoosiers won the serve-receive battle as the back row settled in through the night’s proceedings. Second-year libero Hannah Leftridge recorded a career-high 17 digs and added two aces. IU had more aces (6-5) and digs (55-48) than Georgia over the course of four sets. Fifth-year middle blocker Kiki Granberry led the team with four blocks.

This is the seventh win over a non-conference, power four opponent during head coach Steve Aird’s tenure on the bench in Bloomington. It’s the fifth-straight year that IU has won a game during the non-conference against a team from the ACC or SEC (2022 – Texas A&M, 2023 – Miami (Fla.), 2024 – Notre Dame, 2025 – Miami (Fla.) and 2026 – Georgia). 

Notes

• Third-year opposite hitter Ella Boersema, who is transitioning to a new position on the right side, recorded a career-high in kills (12) and hitting percentage (.667). It was the first match in her time as an IU player with double-digit kills. She also added four dig and an ace in IU’s win over Georgia.

• At the same time, first-year outside hitter Sara Snowbarger continues to step up when her number is called. She added a career-high 10 kills and seven digs while playing six rotations for the first time in her time in college. She’s the third freshman (Jager, Gray) with at least 10 kills in the last two seasons.

• Over the last three years, IU is now 14-3 when three players have at least 10 kills. All three of the Hoosiers’ pin hitters were in double figures on Tuesday, led by 19 from second-year outside hitter Jaidyn Jager. It’s the first time IU has had all three pins with 10-or-more kills since a win over Maryland (Nov. 16, 2025) last season.

• Second-year setter Teodora Kričković ran a great offense on Tuesday evening. All five primary attackers had at least seven kills. She dished out 50 assists in the win, the second match of her career with at least 50 helpers. She’s the first IU setter with 50 assists in a four-set match since former All-American Camryn Haworth (53 – vs. Maryland, Nov. 17, 2023). 

What’s Next for Indiana

The Hoosiers continue their non-conference schedule and head to Nashville to play the Tennessee Volunteers in another ranked matchup on ESPN2.

The Hoosiers will play Southern Indiana in Evansville on Sept. 7th before opening up home play against Cal Poly on Sept. 10th.