Volleyball Central: Ohio State and Penn State

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After breaking a three-match losing streak with a big sweep of No. 20 Washington, the Indiana volleyball team (11-6, 4-4 B1G) will look to start piling wins together as the Big Ten season hits the midway point. The Hoosiers will finish off a three-match road trip at Ohio State on Friday (Oct. 23) before taking on Penn State in a top-20 battle at Wilkinson Hall on Sunday (Oct. 25).

An improved defensive effort was evident in IU's trip to the west coast over the weekend. Led by 14 blocks from third-year middle blocker Ella Boersema in two matches, IU totaled 26 rejections as a team (3.25 per set). The 16 team blocks against Oregon were the most in a Big Ten match since 2023 (18 – vs. Illinois). The Hoosiers followed that up with 10 stuffs in a sweep of Washington.

Third-year outside hitter Izzy Clark added an extra wrinkle to IU's dynamic offense when she made a full return to the front row this weekend. Her 12 kills against Washington helped the team hit above .300 and pick up a massive, ranked victory. Seven different players have turned in a double-digit kill effort for the Hoosiers this season including four pin hitters and three middle blockers.

This weekend's matches will feature some familiar storylines on each side. First-year outside hitter Sara Snowbarger (Wooster, Ohio) and assistant coach (Dublin, Ohio) each hail from within a handful of hours from Columbus. Both will have plenty of family and friends in attendance.

On Sunday, Hodge and head coach Steve Aird will take on Penn State's head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley. The three of them overlapped in the early 2000's during their playing days at Penn State. All three of them either played for or coached under legendary head man Russ Rose at some point in their careers.

Each of this weekend's games will be broadcasted to a national audience. IU will be live on the Big Ten Network from the Covelli Center in Columbus on Friday (Oct. 23) evening at 7 p.m. On Sunday, Wilkinson Hall will host the third all top-20 home matchup in program history at 3 p.m. on FS1.

Gameday Details
#18 Indiana (11-6, 4-4 Big Ten) at Ohio State (10-8, 3-5 Big Ten)
Friday, October 23rd | 7 p.m. ET | Covelli Center (Columbus, Ohio)
TV: Big Ten Network (Jason Knapp, Audrey Flaugh)
Live Video | Live Stats

#18 Indiana (11-6, 4-4 Big Ten) vs. #16 Penn State (13-5, 5-3 Big Ten)
Sunday, October 25th | 3 p.m. ET | Wilkinson Hall (Bloomington, Ind.)
TV: FS1 (Chris Vosters, Camryn Irwin)
Live Video | Live Stats

A Win Would
Ohio State:
- Be the 12th win of the season and the fifth in Big Ten play
- Be the fifth win in seven tries against the Buckeyes

Penn State:
- Be the first time beating Penn State in consecutive years in IU history
- Be the third ranked win in Wilkinson Hall history
- Have Steve Aird match the program record for most ranked wins as a head coach

Both:
- Improve IU's record to 13-6 (6-4 Big Ten) on the year
- Be the first three-game Big Ten winning streak of the season

New Items
• IU is coming off its second ranked win of the year with a sweep of No. 20 Washington (Oct. 18).
• The Hoosiers will go for a fifth road win of the season on Friday in Columbus.
• Longtime friends Steve Aird (IU) and Katie Schumacher-Cawley (Penn State) will meet each other on the sideline on Sunday.

Notable
ALL INVOLVED: Second-year setter Teodora Krickovic is closing in on becoming the 12th player in program history to reach 2,000 career assists. She's 139 away as she continues to set the Hoosiers at an elite offensive rate. The Serbian is averaging 10.63 assists per set in her career at IU.

TALLYING WINS: Since the 2022 campaign (four-plus years), Indiana has racked up 88 wins under head coach Steve Aird. That includes at least 15 wins in each full season during that stretch. IU will be looking to reach that plateau again for the fifth-straight year in 2026.

WE LIKE THAT: Third-year outside hitter Izzy Clark made her full return to the lineup with a pair of starts out west. She produced a match high 12 kills on a .455 hitting percentage against No. 20 Washington as IU picked up a big road sweep. IU's pin hitters combined for 31 kills in the win.

BIG BLOCK BOERSEMA: Third-year middle blocker Ella Boersema led a strong blocking performance in IU's games over the weekend. She combined for 14 rejections in two matches out west, led by nine in a near win over No. 11 Oregon. Boersema has 31 blocks in Big Ten action this year.

STACKING UP: In conference games only this year, IU is near the top of the Big Ten in a number of important categories. The Hoosiers are fourth in hitting percentage (.255), fifth in blocks per set (2.62) and fifth in aces per set (1.55). That all comes while already having played the top four teams in the league.

IMPORTANT SWEEP: The win over No. 20 Washington was important in a number of ways. But it made some program history. The sweep over the Huskies, and last year's sweep at Penn State, is the first time in school history that IU has swept a ranked Big Ten opponent on the road in back-to-back years.

RANKED WINS: Head coach Steve Aird and IU is coming off a big win at No. 20 Washington last week. He has now guided the program to 11 wins against AVCA opponents. If he is able to take down his alma mater, Penn State, he will match the program record for ranked wins (12) by a head coach.

TEAM EFFORT: IU has gotten important contributions from nearly its whole roster this year. 16 of 18 players have appeared in a match this year and 11 of those have started in one. On Sunday, second-year defensive specialist Avery Freeman made an appearance off the bench with two big aces.

Scouting the Opponent
Ohio State (10-8, 3-5 Big Ten)
• A win over USC and a five-set loss to UCLA proved a productive weekend as the Buckeyes completed their weekend out west at the same time as IU. Ohio State is in prime position to make this year's Big Ten Tournament and will be hoping to rise the standings this weekend at home.

• Outside hitter Naomy Govou leads a strong charge of foreign flair for head coach Jen Flynn Oldenburg. She leads the team with 3.81 kills per set and 4.24 points per set. Opposite hitter Hannah Jones provides 3.00 kills per set. Setters Bailey Nakanelua and Mia Tuman have both gotten some run at the position in the last few weeks.

Penn State (13-5, 5-3 Big Ten)
• Penn State is also coming off its west coast trip after losing to UCLA and beating USC over the weekend. Opposite hitter Kennedy Martin, one of the nation's best players is leading the team with 4.34 kills per set and 5.00 points per set. Veteran outside hitter Whitney Launstein is putting up 3.10 kills per set but is hitting under .200.

• Setter Alexis Stucky transferred in from Florida during the offseason and is leading the team's offense to a .254 hitting percentage. She loves to get middle blocker Gabrielle Nichols involved in the offense (1.85 kills per set). Nichols is also offering up 1.28 blocks per set (78.0 total).

Inside the Series
Ohio State
• The Buckeyes were one of the early powerhouse programs in the Big Ten. Indiana has caught up in the all-time series, winning six of the 11 games played under head coach Steve Aird.

• The two teams have played seven-straight games that have gone either four or five sets. IU hasn't won in Columbus since taking down the fifth-ranked Buckeyes in 2022.

Penn State
• Once the standard in college volleyball, Penn State has long reigned supreme over many teams in the Big Ten. IU finally picked up its first road win in the series last year and is now looking to pick up back-to-back wins over the Nittany Lions for the first time in program history. Penn State leads the all-time series 62-2.

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Players Mentioned

Ella Boersema

Izzy Clark

Avery Freeman

Teodora Krickovic

Sara Snowbarger

Indiana University Athletics