TOLEDO, Ohio -- Playing matches early in the day seems to agree with the IUPUI volleyball team, as they picked up another win, downing Bradley University, 3-1, in the morning game of the University of Toledo Clarion Hotel Westgate Rocket Classic.
IUPUI (2-1), who defeated the University of Toledo yesterday at 12 p.m., won today when beginning play at 10 a.m., capitalizing on 14 Bradley service errors and 28 hitting errors to defeat the Braves, 30-27, 30-23, 21-30, 30-28.
With the win, the Jaguars are off to their best start since the 2003 season, when they also started 2-1.
The Jags received 18 kills from senior Devika Bellamy, who set a new season-high for the squad. Bellamy hit at a .324 clip, helping the Jaguars hit .211 for the match. Freshman Lauran Thompson continued her strong start to the season, contributing 13 kills and hitting .167 in a team-high 42 attempts.
Sophomore Danielle Goodnight tallied 47 assists in the match, picking up 90 percent of the team's helpers. It was the second-highest total in Goodnight's career, just falling short of the 55 she recorded last Sept. 6 at Ball State.
Just as they have in their past two games, IUPUI started strong in order to capture the first game of the match. The Jaguars were able to jump out to a 6-1 lead before Bradley eventually tied the game at 11.
Still, IUPUI took advantage of Bradley miscues to move to a 19-16 lead and force a Braves timeout. The Jags continued strong play led to another Bradley timeout at 26-22, but the Braves came back to make it a one point game at 26-25.
Coming out of a timeout, IUPUI received a key kill by sophomore Monica Suding off a set from Goodnight. Bellamy followed with two service aces and Thompson closed the first game with a kill from Goodnight.
Bradley (0-3) took an early lead in game two, but IUPUI quickly rallied to go up 12-7. The Braves would get no closer than one point (at 18-17) before IUPUI used an 8-4 run over the course of two Bradley timeouts to take control of the match and cruise to a 30-23 win.
Despite trailing two games to none, Bradley did not back down, using a strong attack to down the Jags, 21-30 in the third game. The Braves used an 11-5 run midway through the game to turn a 9-7 lead into a 20-12 advantage, forcing IUPUI to burn a timeout. From there, the Braves and Jaguars traded points, with Bradley forcing a fourth game.
IUPUI again started strong in the final game, taking a 6-1 lead to assume early control of the match. Bradley rallied to cut their deficit to one, but the Jaguars used a quick 4-0 run to put themselves comfortably in front through the middle of the match.
However, the Jaguars got stuck on 22 points, allowing Bradley to close to 22-21, forcing an IUPUI timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Jags went on a 7-2 run sandwiched around a Bradley timeout, pushing the game to match point. Still, Bradley had one more run in them, closing to within 29-28 before a Thompson kill clinched the match.
For IUPUI, Suding and fellow sophomore Ashley Johnson controlled the middle of the net, combining for eight block assists. Johnson chipped in five kills while hitting .385, while Suding had six kills in 24 attempts. Junior Chelsea Bastin again led the way in the backcourt, coming up with 21 digs, a season high.
The Jaguars will close out the tournament tonight 5 p.m. when they take on the Musketeers of Xavier University.
