"I trust her to put the ball in my hands, and she trusts me to be up," said IU's Victoria Gray of setter Teodora Kričković. "And when it connects, it just feels good."
INDIANAPOLIS — Loaded with a roster of freshmen starters playing against a veteran Purdue team ranked 12th in the nation, Indiana struggled Thursday night inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, but that wasn't what IU coach Steve Aird was focusing on after the 3-1 loss.
"We're 14-3. There won't be any crying tonight," said Aird, whose team is ranked 22nd nationally and is performing its way to a bid in the NCAA tournament for the first time in recent history. "It's not a situation where we're going to pout or spend much time (thinking) about. It wasn't the Super Bowl. It was the seventh match of the Big Ten season. We can grow, we can develop, we'll keep getting better."
Outside the locker room after the match, two of his freshmen stars who exploded in Thursday's match echoed their coach's thoughts — setter Teodora Kričković who matched a career high with a monstrous 49 assists and middle blocker Victoria Gray who finished with a .643 hitting percentage and 10 kills, her best college performance.
"So even though this is the first year," Kričković said, smiling, "imagine how it's going to be in two years."
The dynamic freshmen duo said they've been working on their on-court connection.
"Beginning of the season, I think it was just trusting each other. We have a good connection, but it's a different kind of trust on the court," Gray said. "And now I think we're feeling it. We're seeing it. And I trust her to put the ball in my hands, and she trusts me to be up. And it's just like, when it connects, it connects. It just feels good."
Kričković, who played high school in Serbia, had never played in an arena like Gainbridge in the United States.
"This is a whole different thing and whole different experience so I'm hoping that there will be much more experiences like this," she said, "and that we're going to show ourselves in the best light that we can."
When asked about Kričković, Aird said "she's a really, really good player." As for the chemistry between her and Gray, he said it's fun to wach.
"Those kids, they're not scared. They're enjoying to be around. They're really good kids. I think the future's super bright," he said. "And we got a little young in certain positions but, at the same time, I thought they played really well and competed. Indiana fans should be excited about the future."
'Nothing to be embarrassed about'
IU met Purdue Thursday for the 45th historic Monon Spike Match, which has been played between the two schools since 1981. Indiana gave up the scheduled home match in Bloomington to play in Indianapolis, marking the first volleyball game to be played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Purdue has dominated the series, winning 21 of the last 23 Monon Spike matches. On Thursday, the Boilermakers took the first set 25-19, the third set 25-20 and the fourth 25-21. IU rallied for a 25-17 win in the second set, proving to IU it can play with a perennial Sweet 16 team.
"I mean hats off to Purdue. What a great team. They have so many good players, so many other aspects are good. They really put it all together tonight," Gray said. "But I think the momentum in the second set and just our fight back, it's right there. We just have to go back and we have to learn. We have to grow from it."
The starting lineup on any given night for IU includes four or five freshmen, Aird said, acknowledging that can be challenging at times.
"I think Purdue's an excellent team, a legitimate top-15 team. I think we're close, we're just not there," he said. "I think some of it was youth. Some of it was my inability to get us ready to go out of the gate. So nothing to be embarrassed about. I thought we played really hard. I thought we were cruising in game two."
But despite the second set win and holding Purdue to 17 points, IU had a major loss when Ella Boersema, one of the best middle blockers in the Big Ten this season, suffered a season-ending injury.
Aird said Boersema fractured her right leg after she crashed into the stanchion after going on a "wide" slide.
"She's a really, really strong kid physically," Aird said. "... Obviously, your heart goes out to the kid. She's an Indiana kid who has really turned into a pretty darn good player and was cruising and doing some good stuff."
With the score 5-4 Purdue when Boersema went out, IU rallied and secured its largest lead of the night 23-12 then its only set win 25-17.
Boersema's injury "obviously changed some of the dynamic of the match," Aird said.
"But that's sport, and we had people come in and do a really nice job of filling the gaps," he said. "Serving and passing was the difference. I thought they're well trained, they served well, they passed well, put a lot of pressure on us."
While the Monon Spike Match is dubbed a college rivalry between Purdue and IU, Aird said he doesn't yet feel IU has earned that.
"I think Purdue likes to lean into the rivalry because they've won so much. I know it's an important thing for Indiana folk with basketball, with football. We need to get to the point where we're good enough to make a rivalry," he said. "We haven't won enough for me to think it's a rivalry. They own it."
But IU is a top 25 team, Aird said, even with seven of its 17 players being freshmen.
"I feel like we've come a long way, and I want to make sure that that's not lost in the translation," he said. "So in our own way, we've had a lot to remake and remaster and (I'm) super proud."
Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on X: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana volleyball freshmen give bright future, Teodora Krickovic key part
Category: General Sports
