BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana Volleyball team (9-7, 2-4 B1G) threw everything it had at No. 3 Penn State on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 13) at Wilkinson Hall. The late lead slipped away from IU in sets three and four, falling 3-1 to the visiting Nittany Lions (25-22, 22-25, 30-32, 22-25) in Bloomington.

After a strong opening set, Penn State responded in set two to straighten things out. The Hoosiers had five set points in game three, but were hurt by a trio of late service errors. Sophomore Ramsey Gary had a serve, up 28-27, that hung on the net and fell back to IU’s side due to an error. The Nittany Lions closed out games three and four, ending the Hoosiers’ push for a signature victory.

Junior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles had a team high of 18 kills while he was a senior setter Camryn Haworth finished one kill shy of her fourth career triple-double (36 assists, 11 digs, 9 kills). The Hoosiers had a productive afternoon from the middle, getting 15 combined kills from junior Madi Sales and sophomores Ava Vickers.

IU out-blocked Penn State (13.0-10.0) while Sell (7.0) matched a career-high along the way. It was the fourth game this season that the Hoosiers finished with 13 total team blocks. Gary had 17 digs to pace the back row effort. Five different IU players had at least seven digs.

Penn State All-American outside hitter Jess Mruzik found her groove in the fourth set, effectively lifting her team to victory with seven kills on eight swings. She had a match high of 21 kills. Outside hitter Camryn Hannah (17) and Maggie Mendelson (11) also reached double figures.

The Hoosiers are on a quick turnaround this week as they prepare for a pair of nationally televised games. IU heads to Illinois on Wednesday night (7 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network) and to No. 1 on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network). 10 Purdue.

Set up breakdown
Set 1: Indiana 25, Penn State 22

Two days after a frustrating night in Minnesota, Indiana responded with a strong opening set to start the day at Wilkinson Hall. The Hoosiers hit just .225, but held Penn State to a .143 offensive clip (15-9-42). Camryn Haworth had 10 assists and two kills in set one, while IU as a team had 18 digs.

• IU eventually broke away after the two teams traded early points. Avry Tatum had a pair of kills, sandwiched around a Penn State attacking error, as the Hoosiers opened a 16-13 lead.

• Penn State tied the game at 17-all after a 3-0 run with libero Gillian Grimes on the service line. IU was denied by a double block before Nittany Lion middle blocker Maggie Mendelson converted on a kill to force IU into a timeout.

• The Hoosiers took back the lead for good after the timeout Candela Alonso-Corcelles And Ava Vickers combine in the first block of the night. IU closed on an 8-5 run to win the opening set. Madi Sales denied Penn State a quick set and took the 25-22 victory in game one.

Set 2: Penn State 25, Indiana 22

As expected, Penn State struck back in game two to tie the game. Both blocks came to life and each team recorded five in set two. Alonso-Corcelles had seven kills in game three, while Sell had four blocks. Penn State found a few more points offensively to seal the deal. Jess Mruzik had five kills and two blocks for the Nittany Lions.

• Penn State opened a four-point lead at the 11-7 and 15-11 intervals. Mendelson had back-to-back kills to carry Penn State into the media timeout. After trading service errors out of the break, Mendelson and setter Izzy Starck combined for a block to take a five-point lead.

• IU had chances to get back into the set. Camryn Hannah was called for a blocking foul to cut the deficit to three points. Alonso-Corcelles and Ava Vickers had committed kills after an IU timeout only to return in three hours. IU couldn’t close the deficit for the remainder of the set.

• A solo block of Mady Saris and a double block from Sell and Haworth denied Penn State on the first two set points. After a long rally on the third set point, Mruzik finished the frame with a fantastic cut shot just inside the line. IU challenged but failed to overturn the call. That turned out to be a big moment, as the Hoosiers burned both challenges in set two.

Series 3: Penn State 32, Indiana 30

Reminiscent of a long set against Minnesota in 2023, Sunday’s third game against Penn State will be one that haunts the Hoosiers. IU had a chance at five set points, but failed to convert three due to service errors. The Hoosiers had four blocks in the set and 13 kills, but gave away five points on the service line. Penn State won the set 32-30 on 13 combined kills from their attackers on the left side.

• After controlling most of set two, Penn State repeated that in the first part of set three. Ava Falduto picked up IU on a miscommunication before Mruzik finished a kill to take a 10-6 lead. Aird took his first timeout before the momentum got out of hand.

• IU continued to battle back, going on an 8-3 run to regain the lead. A big swing from Haworth on the second touch gave IU the 14-13 lead. It was IU’s first lead since 5-4 in the set.

• Penn State’s first sign of cracks came after consecutive attacking errors by Mruzik. She failed to get the first ball over the net on a back-row swing before her next attempt sailed out of bounds. The Nittany Lions called a timeout and trailed by three (19-16) in game three.

• Aird showed some veteran coaching composure, standing next to the referee with Penn State back to serve. He pretended to take a time-out, but failed to do so. Mruzik previously sent her serve into the net Avry Tatum stepped back to the line and beat Penn State. That ace gave IU a 21-19 lead.

• On the second set point, Haworth went back to the service line with a chance to be the hero. Her serve sailed long and caused a chain reaction. IU’s next two serves, all on set point, were errors. Penn State finally took the lead and got back-to-back kills from Taylor Trammell to cap off the set win.

Series 4: Penn State 25, Indiana 22

Another chance to continue the game gradually fell out of IU’s reach. Mruzik proved her worth as an All-American forward, closing the set with seven kills on eight swings. IU got four kills and a block from Sell, but six service errors put the finishing touches on a four-set loss.

• IU jumped out of the gate and quickly opened a 9-5 lead. Penn State responded with three points, all kills from Hannah, but IU cut the lead to four on a kill from Alonso-Corcelles. Katie Schumacher-Cawley took her first timeout with IU leading 12-8.

• The Hoosier lead grew to as many as five, with Haworth and Sell combining to form a huge block to put Wilkinson Hall on its feet. IU had every chance to close out the set, but Penn State refused to go away. The Nittany Lions quickly added three points before Aird took his first timeout.

• Service errors from Delay Maple And Ramsey Gary prevented any chance of a new lead. Vickers broke away with a big kill from the middle, but Penn State closed on a 5-1 run from there. Mruzik put together a pair of impressive kills before Mendelson closed out the match, finishing past IU’s outstretched arms.

Top Hoosier Artists
#3 Alonso-Corcelles, Candela

18 kills, 9 digs, 1 block, 1 assist

#10 Haworth, Camryn

36 assists, 11 digs, 9 kills, 5 blocks

#1 Sales, Madi

7 kills, 7 blocks

Notes to know

• After Sunday’s close loss, IU falls to 1-62 all-time against Penn State. The Hoosiers are now 0-38 against the top three teams in program history after the loss to the No. 3 Nittany Lions.

• Senior typesetter Camryn Haworth was one kill away from her fourth career triple-double. This is the second time in her career that she has recorded two or fewer kills while recording a triple-double. She had 45 assists, 16 digs and 8 kills in a win over No. 5 Ohio State in 2022. She had 36 assists, 11 digs and 9 kills in today’s loss to No. 3 Penn State.

• The Fishers, Indiana native has 10 matches with 7+ kills in her career. Today’s performance marked the 29th double-double of her stellar college career. She is tied for second (Victoria Brisack) for most double-doubles in IU history during the 25-point rally era (since 2008).

• Haworth had another multi-ace effort on the service line against Penn State. That puts her at 195 for her collegiate career. She needs just two more to tie the IU all-time record and three to break the program record for service aces.

• Junior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles has had more than 10 kills in 27 of her 46 career Big Ten games since arriving in Bloomington. In her last four games, she averaged 4.47 kills per set. Twice this year, including today’s game against Penn State, she has recorded 18 kills.

• Junior middle blocker Madi Sales had a productive afternoon, calling the ball offensively. She matched career highs in blocks (7.0) and attacks (17) while hitting at a .353 clip (7-1-17) on Sunday.

• Set three in Sunday’s match resulted in a total of 62 points between the two teams. Over the past two seasons, IU has had four different sets cross the 30-point threshold on both sides. The Hoosiers are just 1-3 in those four games. The only set win came at Northwestern (34-32 – Set 2, October 29, 2023). Three of those set losses came at Wilkinson Hall.