INDIANAPOLIS -- Displaying a tenacious defense, the IUPUI volleyball team held visiting Ball State to a -.047 attack percentage in sweeping the Cardinals, 3-0, for their second-ever win over BSU Tuesday night at the IUPUI Gymnasium.
IUPUI (7-5) dominated throughout, holding Ball State to more attack errors than kills in each of the three games. Sophomore Ashley Johnson keyed the Jaguars offense, turning in a match-high eight kills while assisting on four blocks. Johnson posted a .467 attack percentage in 15 attempts.
The Jaguar defense came away with 52 digs, stifling the Ball State (1-8) attack. Sophomore Chelsea Bastin led the team with 14 digs while senior Devika Bellamy had 11.
After falling behind in the first game 6-3, IUPUI controlled the rest of the match, picking up four straight points on the serve of freshman Lauran Thompson to assume a 10-7 advantage, forcing a Ball State timeout.
The Cardinals got no closer than one point, at 11-10, the remainder of the game, A kill by Johnson and three BSU errors opened the lead back to four, and IUPUI cruised to the win.
It was more of the same in game two, in which IUPUI never trailed. The Jags raced out to a 5-1 lead before stretching the advantage on the serves of sophomore Rachel Holmes and Bellamy, forcing a Ball State timeout with a 19-14 lead.
Kills from Bellamy and Newell on the service of sophomore Danielle Goodnight pushed the Jaguar lead to nine at 24-15, and IUPUI was able to trade points the rest of the way to pick up the 30-20 win.
When Ball State committed a service error on the first play of the third game, the Jaguars had a lead they would not relinquish.
Sophomore Hillary Houston (Trafalgar, Ind./Franklin Community) keyed the game three win, recording five kills in 14 attempts in the third game.
The win over Ball State was the second straight Jaguar win in the confines of The Jungle. IUPUI downed the Cardinals on Sept. 6, 2005.
IUPUI will open Summit League play in their next match on Friday, September 14, when the Jaguars will take on the Westerwinds of Western Illinois. The match will begin at 8 p.m. EST from Western Hall.
