In its Big Ten home premiere, USC women’s volleyball fell to the Indiana Hoosiers in four sets (25-15, 22-25, 19-25, 20-25).
Before the matchup, the Hoosiers were 11-1 and seeking to go 3-0 in conference play. The No. 17 Trojans were 1-1 in conference play, with their lone conference loss coming to 2024 national champions Penn State. Unfortunately, USC was unable to protect home court and adjust to Indiana’s fast paced offense.
“I’m disappointed in my team tonight,” head coach Brad Keller said. “I thought we didn’t react the way we needed to react on the floor.”
The Trojans showed no sign of struggle in the first set and quickly gained control of the pace of the game. USC sophomore middle blocker Mia Tvrdy was an unstoppable force for the Trojans. She delivered seven kills in the first set, leading USC in points and kills.
USC held the Hoosiers to only three kills in the first set while putting up 17 and hitting a .429 percentage. Hoosier senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum had two of those kills for Indiana, but the effort was no match for the offensive dominance the Trojans exhibited in the first set.
However, things quickly changed for the Trojans after the first set. The Hoosiers came alive straight out of set two with 15 kills and four blocks. The Trojans’ middle blocker duo of Tvrdy and redshirt sophomore Leah Ford kept USC in the set as they put up a combined five kills. Freshman opposite hitter Abigail Mullen, who leads the Trojans in scoring with 4.14 points per set, contributed two aces for USC.
Despite USC pushing back, Indiana was able to close out the tight set 25-22. Hoosier freshman setter Teodora Kričkovic had an impressive performance with four kills and seven assists. Indiana completely turned around the match, holding USC to .195 hitting percentage in comparison to their .306 percentage.
The trend continued for the Hoosiers in the third set, and the Trojans struggled to modify their defense to the fast paced offense that Kričkovic was running on Indiana’s side.
Like Keller, the players weren’t happy with their performance.
“It was an off night for us and we weren’t really able to adjust fast enough,” Ford said.
“It was our attitude,” Tvrdy added. “We need to work on completely changing how we look at it if it isn’t working and find an outlet.”
Although USC leads the Big Ten with 2.96 blocks per set, it was Indiana who capitalized at the net defensively with 11 blocks through three sets. Without USC’s blocking presence, their defense struggled heavily. Tatum delivered five kills for the Hoosiers and freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager was able to rack up six kills against the Trojans defense in set three.
Despite Tvrdy notching double-digits in kills and Ford having nine kills on 13 attempts, USC had no offensive groove from their pin hitters and dropped set three 25-19.
In set four, Indiana obtained control of both the momentum and pace of the game. Tatum and Jager continued to dominate offensively for the Hoosiers finishing with 14 kills for Tatum and 12 for Jager. Meanwhile, USC hit a match low 0.077 hitting percentage.
Indiana took the fourth set from USC 25-20 and completed the Big Ten upset on the Trojans home court. Although Tvrdy had a record night of 17 kills and the Trojans out-scored Indiana in kills 52-47, the Hoosiers pulled out the four set win.
“I think we felt the stress and I think that it just got to us,” Keller said. “We need to flush this, and get over it, but also we need to learn and get to the next game.”
USC will have a chance to bounce back on its home court on Saturday against No. 13 Purdue in the second game of its Big Ten homestand.