‘Can’t Wait’ – IU Seeks to Make Big Volleyball Jump
8/26/2025 10:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
'Can't Wait' – IU Seeks to Make Big Volleyball Jump
By Pete DiPrimio
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Candela Alonso-Corcelles smiles from a Wilkinson Hall bleacher. Of course she does. It's the Indiana senior outside hitter's nature, for one thing. But it's the prospects for this volleyball season that has her really pumped.
"This is the best team we've had since I've been here," she says. "Everyone can play. We have so many good players. The new players have experience and are really good."
Eight newcomers, including seven freshmen that comprise the nation's No. 14-rated class, the highest ranking in program history, have helped produce rock-your-world practices that fuel Alonso-Corcelles' optimism.
"This is the most competitive team I've ever been on," she says. "In practice, it's crazy how competitive we are."
She pauses to, yes, smile again.
"It's my last year, and I think it will be the best year."
Freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager, who might emerge as the best of the newcomers, perhaps even the best player on the team -- "She's a name people might not know nationally," head coach Steve Aird says, "but they're about to." -- shares that excitement.
"We can be one of the top teams," Jager says. "Our practices have been amazing. We're all hard workers. All of our goals are aligned, which is very important. We're all working toward the same thing.
"As long as we continue to push each other, it can be an amazing team. I'm super excited."
IU, which has finished .500 or better in each of the last three seasons, is poised to surpass its predicted 11th-place Big Ten finish in the coaches' preseason poll. This is Aird's eighth season at Indiana and potentially his most talented team.
"It's the first time at IU that I think we have real depth at each position," he says. "I feel very comfortable with players one through seventeen that they can play at this level and contribute.
"In years past, if we had an injury or two, or something happened, it would be detrimental. We didn't have enough behind it. This year is different. We have a lot of people who can play at a high level. We've established roles. The chemistry is exceptional."
Aird talks from his Wilkinson Hall office just before an afternoon practice to further sharpen the Hoosiers for Friday's season opener at Miami (Fla.). He and his staff of Rachel Morris, Kevin Hodge, Matt Kearns and Hallie Enderle, having spent years building a program that can thrive in a brutally strong Big Ten, are convinced the reward is just ahead.
Evidence includes a 21-7 home record over the past two seasons as the Hoosiers have turned Wilkinson Hall into a formidable place for opposing teams.
"We've been really good at home," Aird says. "We've established Wilkinson Hall is a tough venue to win in."
The Big Ten has seven teams ranked in the top 21 nationally, including No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 and defending national champ Penn State. Big Ten teams have won 21 national titles, including eight by conference newcomers USC, UCLA and Washington.
"The conference is a bear as it always is," Aird says. "You have to get good. It starts with recruiting, then development, then retention. We've done a good job with that over the last few years."
Development soared during summer training.
"The returning players did a great job with the new kids bringing them up to speed on what we do and how we do it," Aird says. "Physically, we're in great shape. The hard part is figuring out who plays. This is the first time at IU I've had that problem."
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Four starters return from a 15-15 team that finished 10th in the Big Ten with an 8-12 conference record. Senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum, junior middle blocker Ava Vickers and sophomore setter Sade Ilawole are co-captains.
Alonso-Corcelles joins with Tatum to form one of the conference's top hitting duos. Their average of 7.20 kills per set was second nationally to Stanford's Elia Rubin and Ipar Kurt (7.21) among returning teammates. Alonso-Corcelles had a team-leading 409 kills. Tatum was second with 348. She had 12 kills in last Saturday's Cream and Crimson scrimmage.
And yet …
"The fun part is neither of them are promised a starting spot," Aird says. "That's how deep we are. Some of the new kids -- who have experience and are talented -- are pushing them.
"We haven't set a lineup yet. We're still trying to figure out what system we want to be in. That's a big part of it."
Vickers and senior Madi Sell return in the middle. Sell led IU with 94 blocks last season. She had a team-best seven blocks in the scrimmage. Vickers was second on the team last year with 67 blocks.
They, too, are not guaranteed starting positions.
"I've always told them the truth," says Aird, who was once an assistant coach on a pair of Penn State national title teams. "We're trying to win matches. The competition in the gym is as close to my Penn State days as I've had. We're trying to figure out how to best utilize the new people with the veterans to find the best mix for success."
As for the uncertainty that comes in this new college sports era, Aird adds, "Development is important, but college athletics is so different now with the portal, with revenue share, with NIL and player movement. The goal is to be great for the next four months and for everyone to be where their feet are. Then we'll figure out 2026 when we get to 2026."
Besides Jager, who had a scrimmage-leading 19 kills, freshman outside hitter Charlotte Vinson has a No. 25 national recruiting ranking. Another freshman, middle blocker Victoria Gray, was a finalist for Miss Volleyball and Miss Basketball in Michigan. Freshman defensive specialist Avery Freeman, a top-100 prospect, shared scrimmage libero responsibilities with fellow freshman Audrey Jackson.
Then there's grad transfer and elite passer Jessica Smith, who thrived in beach volleyball at UCLA while twice making NCAA all-tourney teams.
"Recruiting has gone through the roof," Aird says. "We've been attractive to top talent. We have a lot of talent in the gym.
"They're all here because they know we can make a run at this thing. That's the biggest difference (from previous years)."
IU is replacing Camryn Haworth, who ended her four-year career as the greatest setter in program history with a school-record 213 aces and nearly 4,000 assists, with Serbian freshman standout Teodora Kričković, who Aird says is, "pretty darn good." She played with the Serbian youth teams at the U19 World Championships in 2023 and was on the U21 2025 roster.
"If she's as good as advertised," he adds, "then we've found our QB."
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What are the keys to breaking into the Big Ten's upper echelon?
"It used to be mostly health because I thought we had high-end talent," Aird says. "Now, it's how the team jells, the chemistry, what is the right mix of players at the right time? Can we keep people healthy? We have a lot of arms and a lot of people who can pass the ball. We have some really physical kids.
"Volleyball matters in the Big Ten. It matters at Indiana. We have a lot of support from the administration. They want it to be good."
When Aird arrived in Bloomington in 2018, IU was coming off a last-place Big Ten finish. Its placed as high as sixth in the conference in his tenure.
"We've gotten to the point where we're in that murky middle," he says.
The push to move beyond that continues. One big selling point -- under Aird, 10 Hoosiers have played professionally.
"When you talk to recruits," Aird says, "do they want to play professionally? We have the receipts. We've taken players and helped them accomplish those goals. That's what the best teams in the conference do. We're closing the gap on that."
Ultimately, IU wants to return to the NCAA tourney for the first time since 2010. Aird tweaked his non-conference scheduling approach to potentially boost its RPI and at-large-bid chances. He says most of the Hoosiers' 10 non-conference matches are against teams that will win their conferences or a lot of matches.
"I wanted to play meaningful matches to make sure our RPI is in a good place. When you look at who's gotten in (the NCAA tourney) and who hasn't (in recent years), as long as you were over .500, it was less about the record and more about the quality of opponent."
This year's schedule includes an Oct. 16 game at Indianapolis' Gainbridge Fieldhouse against Purdue.
"There was some work on the front end," Aird says. "We ended up giving up a home match to do it, but I thought it was the right thing for volleyball. It's too cool an opportunity for young kids to see volleyball on that stage. I thought it was a decision I had to make."
The decision is made, and the Hoosiers are ready for the season-opening trip to Florida that also includes a match with VCU.
"We've taken a big jump over the last three years," Aird says. "I think we're about to take another over the next two to three years with the talent we have coming in and the staff being retained. We're in a good rhythm where people know what I want from the program and how to get there.
"If we're as good as I think we are, November will be really interesting. There will be some big matches we'll have to win to get back to the (NCAA Tournament). That's the goal."
The Hoosiers can't wait, Alonso-Corcelles adds.
"I love this group. We are so good with each other. It's so nice to play with them. When you love the people you're with, it's easy to play with them. I'm excited for the season."
