Hoosiers Ready to Leave Legacy in 2025
7/28/2025 6:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
CHICAGO – With just under a month until the beginning of the college volleyball season, the Big Ten hosted its fourth annual Big Ten Volleyball Media Days on Monday (July 28) afternoon at the network studios in Chicago. Head coach Steve Aird, junior middle blocker Ava Vickers and senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum chatted with television hosts and answered questions in their press conference ahead of Indiana's upcoming season.
With a strong returning core and the program's best-ever recruiting class, the Hoosiers have a deep and talented core for the season ahead. Both coach and players emphasized the team's cohesiveness and drive to succeed as one of the biggest factors for a successful season in Bloomington in 2025.
Here are takeaways from the Hoosiers' annual trip to the Big Ten Network Studios.
Competitive Team and Environment
The Hoosiers have spent the summer training and competing in open gyms.
Eighth-year head coach Steve Aird repeatedly called this group the deepest and most complete roster he's had in his time as a head coach in the Big Ten. Led by the return of veteran hitters Candela Alonso-Corcelles and Avry Tatum, IU has a group of athletic arms that can impact the game in a big way.
Position battles during fall camp – including those for starting setter and libero – will be competitive and fierce. But all 17 players on the roster this season understand that there will be a role for them to play at some point during the campaign. As always, first touch will play a critical role in success. Three new back row players and Jessica Smith – a decorated beach volleyball player – will make a big difference in IU's season.
"It's been super competitive and a lot of fun, and I think it's really good for us to have freshmen that are hungry and ready to play, Tatum said. "It pushes us returners a lot more to be better for them and be better for us, and I think it's been an amazing environment to be in and I'm really excited."
Four starters return from last season but expect the Hoosiers to rotate many players through the lineup during the opening weekends. One thing that has been emphasized from the jump – Aird believes any player on the roster will be ready to go when their name is called.
New Players Ready to Make an Impact
Seven freshmen will have a chance to play a big role on the team right away.
IU's coaching staff honed in on this 2025 recruiting class over two years ago with the goal to make it one of the best in program history. Landing coveted recruit Charlotte Vinson (No. 25 – Prep Volleyball) was the golden ticket to the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history (No. 14 – Prep Dig).
Joining Vinson as blue-chip recruits are outside hitter Jaidyn Jager and middle blocker Victoria Gray – both who were top-100 overall recruits in this year's high school class. Paired with three talented back row players, Aird and his staff have an outstanding collection of new players. Serbian setter Teodora Krickovic and graduate student outside hitter Jessica Smith add to exciting group of additions in Bloomington.
"I feel really, really good about what's happening," Aird said. "They're the right kind of kids. They're really, really good people. They care a ton about what we're doing. They're grateful, and I think these guys will tell you -- we talk about that every day. We want to play hard and play fast. We want to develop pros. We know what our identity is, and we know the type of person we want in the program, and again, thanks to my staff and their hard work, we've drilled that."
The Hoosiers under Aird have never been shy about playing freshmen from the jump. The program has never had multiple players on the Big Ten All-Freshman team in the same season but could see that change in 2025.
Seniors Set to Leave a Legacy
Four veteran players to leave Bloomington after one final ride.
Senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum talked about wanting to leave Indiana better than when she found it. After transferring in from Cincinnati, the Solana Beach, California native has made an immense impact in the program. More than that – she's found a second home in Bloomington.
Four players will head into their senior years in 2025, all of which came to IU during different seasons. Senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles is the only four-year player on the roster. Tatum, senior middle blocker Madi Sell and graduate student Jessica Smith all came in successive seasons out of the transfer portal.
All of them want one thing – a winning season and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
"I think this is our year," Tatum said.
With a strong returning core and the program's best-ever recruiting class, the Hoosiers have a deep and talented core for the season ahead. Both coach and players emphasized the team's cohesiveness and drive to succeed as one of the biggest factors for a successful season in Bloomington in 2025.
Here are takeaways from the Hoosiers' annual trip to the Big Ten Network Studios.
Competitive Team and Environment
The Hoosiers have spent the summer training and competing in open gyms.
Eighth-year head coach Steve Aird repeatedly called this group the deepest and most complete roster he's had in his time as a head coach in the Big Ten. Led by the return of veteran hitters Candela Alonso-Corcelles and Avry Tatum, IU has a group of athletic arms that can impact the game in a big way.
Position battles during fall camp – including those for starting setter and libero – will be competitive and fierce. But all 17 players on the roster this season understand that there will be a role for them to play at some point during the campaign. As always, first touch will play a critical role in success. Three new back row players and Jessica Smith – a decorated beach volleyball player – will make a big difference in IU's season.
"It's been super competitive and a lot of fun, and I think it's really good for us to have freshmen that are hungry and ready to play, Tatum said. "It pushes us returners a lot more to be better for them and be better for us, and I think it's been an amazing environment to be in and I'm really excited."
Four starters return from last season but expect the Hoosiers to rotate many players through the lineup during the opening weekends. One thing that has been emphasized from the jump – Aird believes any player on the roster will be ready to go when their name is called.
New Players Ready to Make an Impact
Seven freshmen will have a chance to play a big role on the team right away.
IU's coaching staff honed in on this 2025 recruiting class over two years ago with the goal to make it one of the best in program history. Landing coveted recruit Charlotte Vinson (No. 25 – Prep Volleyball) was the golden ticket to the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history (No. 14 – Prep Dig).
Joining Vinson as blue-chip recruits are outside hitter Jaidyn Jager and middle blocker Victoria Gray – both who were top-100 overall recruits in this year's high school class. Paired with three talented back row players, Aird and his staff have an outstanding collection of new players. Serbian setter Teodora Krickovic and graduate student outside hitter Jessica Smith add to exciting group of additions in Bloomington.
"I feel really, really good about what's happening," Aird said. "They're the right kind of kids. They're really, really good people. They care a ton about what we're doing. They're grateful, and I think these guys will tell you -- we talk about that every day. We want to play hard and play fast. We want to develop pros. We know what our identity is, and we know the type of person we want in the program, and again, thanks to my staff and their hard work, we've drilled that."
The Hoosiers under Aird have never been shy about playing freshmen from the jump. The program has never had multiple players on the Big Ten All-Freshman team in the same season but could see that change in 2025.
Seniors Set to Leave a Legacy
Four veteran players to leave Bloomington after one final ride.
Senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum talked about wanting to leave Indiana better than when she found it. After transferring in from Cincinnati, the Solana Beach, California native has made an immense impact in the program. More than that – she's found a second home in Bloomington.
Four players will head into their senior years in 2025, all of which came to IU during different seasons. Senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles is the only four-year player on the roster. Tatum, senior middle blocker Madi Sell and graduate student Jessica Smith all came in successive seasons out of the transfer portal.
All of them want one thing – a winning season and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
"I think this is our year," Tatum said.
Players Mentioned
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