Indiana Volleyball’s Defense Powers a 3-0 Sweep of Iowa

IU Release:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Seven years after opening the doors to a beautiful on-campus arena, the Indiana volleyball team (14-8, 7-6 Big Ten) played its 100th all-time match at Wilkinson Hall on Friday (Nov. 6) evening. Behind a gutsy defensive effort, IU dominated Iowa (25-17, 25-19, 25-12) to pick up its fifth Big Ten sweep of the season. The Hoosiers are just one win away from clinching back-to-back winning seasons.

After spending most of October on the road, IU enjoyed a full week of rest and practice inside its own gym. That was reflected in Friday’s effort as head coach Steve Aird‘s group played one of its best defensive performances of the year. 12 team blocks, 43 digs and consistently tough serving kept Iowa out of any rhythm in the entire match. The Hawkeyes had just 28 kills in the contest and hit .030 with 25 attacking errors.

While she waited for her offense to get going, second-year outside hitter Jaidyn Jager set the tone defensively. She had a career high six blocks and contributed nine digs as well. She finished the night with nine kills, one of four players with at least eight kills in the match. Three different players had at least four blocks, including fifth-year middle blocker Kiki Granberry who picked up the 400th block of her outstanding college career.

Fifth-year opposite hitter Avry Tatum found her footing early in the match and hit a blistering .417 with 12 kills in the dominant victory. IU’s three pin hitters combined for 30 kills. Second-year setter Teodora Krickovic dished out 38 assists and set the Hoosiers to their eighth match of the year hitting .300 or better. She picked up her second double-double in as many games with a team best 11 digs.

IU is inching closer to punching its ticket to this year’s Big Ten Tournament. A win on Sunday over Illinois (Nov. 8 – 2 p.m.) or some help on Saturday would ensure a trip to Fishers later this month. The contest against Illinois will be streamed on B1G+ from Wilkinson Hall.

How it Happened
• A complete defensive effort hampered any chances that Iowa had of winning on Friday night. IU led the way in blocks (12.0-5.0), digs (43-38) and team hitting percentage (.310-.030). On top of that, IU had five service aces to just seven errors from the end line. Iowa hit negative in sets one and three and barely went above .000 for the match.

• When IU’s pin attackers are flying around and efficient, it’s awfully hard to stop. Fifth-year opposite hitter Avry Tatum, second-year outside hitter Jaidyn Jager and third-year outside hitter Izzy Clark combined for 30 kills on the night. IU added 12 combined kills out of the middle in the dominant win.

Top Hoosier Performers
#13 Tatum, Avry
12 kills, 4 blocks, .417 hitting percentage

#10 Krickovic, Teodora
38 assists, 11 digs, 2 aces

#77 Granberry, Kiki
8 kills, 4 blocks, 2 assists

Notes to Know
• Fifth-year middle blocker Kiki Granberry became the 20th active played in NCAA division one volleyball with 400 career blocks on Friday night. She came into the match needing just one and picked it up early in the opening set. She has a team best 89.0 blocks (1.31 per set) on the season and is among the Big Ten’s leaders in that category this year.

• On that same note, IU has picked up 12 blocks in each of the last three matches. The Hoosiers have reached double digits in that category in six of the last seven games overall and in eight Big Ten contests this year. It’s the second time this year (at Ohio State, Oct. 23) that IU has had 12 blocks in just a three-set match.

• IU put together a .310 hitting percentage in Friday’s win behind 12 kills from fifth-year opposite hitter Avry Tatum. It’s the 23rd time over the last two years that the Hoosiers have hit .300 or better in a match. Tatum is on a run of five-straight matches reaching double-digit kills.

• This was the 100th IU match played at Wilkinson Hall since the building opened back in 2019. In those matches, IU has put together a 57-43 record (.570 winning percentage). Since 2022, IU has gone 45-18 (.714) in Wilkinson Hall and now has three wins on its home floor in Big Ten play this season.