INDIANAPOLIS -- Before the second-largest crowd in IUPUI volleyball history, the Jaguars hung tough before falling to former Mid-Continent Conference rival Valparaiso, 3-1, on Friday night at The Jungle.
In front of 584 fans, the Jaguars fell, 25-30, 25-30, 30-24, 28-30, to Valparaiso, who left the now-Summit League for the Horizon League in the summer..
IUPUI (9-13) had three players tally double-digit kills, with senior Carol Newell leading the way with 17. Fellow senior Devika Bellamy had 16, while sophomore Ashley Johnson posted 10.
The Jaguars appeared to be in position to take control of the first game, but Valparaiso rallied to steal the first game, 30-25, and seize momentum.
IUPUI built a 25-20 advantage in the opening game, but the Crusaders reeled off 10 straight points to take the game, the last nine points coming on the serve of Tiffany Meikle.
Valparaiso (15-6) continued to play well in game two, weathering an early IUPUI rally to go up 24-20 and force a Jaguar timeout.
The Jags did not quit in the game, taking three straight points on game point to push Valparaiso into taking a timeout, but the Crusaders went up two-games-to-none with the 30-25 win.
Coming out of intermission, IUPUI changed starting lineups and the results were promising. After falling behind 12-9, the Jags used an 8-3 run to go up 17-15, forcing a Valparaiso timeout.
The minute break did not stop IUPUI's charge, as they continued to apply pressure, with an attack error keeping the lead at 22-18, where Valparaiso burned their final timeout.
After the Crusaders closed to within 25-23, the Jaguars used a Bellamy kill and four Valpo errors to close the game and cut their deficit in half.
Valparaiso did not waste any time in taking control in game four, jumping out to a 13-8 lead and extending the advantage to 19-10. Still, the Jaguars fought back, closing to within 28-25 behind kills from Newell, sophomore Hillary Houston (Trafalgar, Ind./Franklin Community), Bellamy and Johnson. However, a Valpo kill ended the game and match.
IUPUI will look to rebound next Friday, October 19, when they will host Summit League rival Oral Roberts. The match will begin at 7 p.m. from The Jungle.
