INDIANAPOLIS -- The IUPUI volleyball team hung tough against the University of Cincinnati on Tuesday evening at the IUPUI Gymnasium, but the Bearcats took the critical points to pull out a 3-0 win.
IUPUI (8-7, 1-1 Summit) played Cincinnati close in each game, falling 24-30, 24-30 and 25-30. Senior Carol Newell led the Jaguars with 11 kills and a .391 hitting percentage, but 38 errors -- attack, receiving, service and blocking -- hurt the Jags.
Cincinnati (8-4) used good spacing and a height advantage to tally 53 kills and hit .322 for the match.
The Jaguars and Bearcats played close in the early stages of the first game, but the Jaguars were never able to tie the game despite coming within one point on three occasions. With their lead at 11-10, UC went on a 4-0 run to assume control of the game and force an IUPUI timeout.
While IUPUI took the next point, Cincinnati reeled off eight of the next 11 to build a 23-14 lead. Still, the Jaguars closed to within five on a Newell kill before the Bearcats took the game, 30-24.
In game two, IUPUI took their first lead at 2-1 and traded the lead back and forth with Cincinnati five times. The Jaguars were able to use kills from sophomore Danielle Goodnight and Newell to take an 11-8 advantage and force Cincinnati into a timeout.
The Bearcats came out of the break with a 7-2 run, forcing the Jaguars to burn a timeout at 13-15. Cincinnati kept up the pace following the minute break, taking a 23-17 lead after a Jaguar attack error.
An ace by sophomore Rachel Holmes got the Jaguars within three at 21-24, but UC took the next point to push the lead back to four. After the teams traded service errors, Cincinnati pushed the lead to 29-23 after an ace and two kills before closing out the game a point later.
IUPUI started out the third game with a 1-0 lead without having to take the court as Cincinnati was assessed a red card for delay of game after the did not come out of the locker room in a timely manner.
The momentum gained for the Jaguars helped them build a lead that was as big as four points twice, but Cincinnati responded by turning a 12-16 deficit into a 17-17 tie, forcing IUPUI to commit a timeout.
Still, the Jaguars battled, regaining the lead on consecutive kills by Newell. UC came back with three straight kills to gain a 20-19 lead. Despite a Newell kill that tied the game, the Jaguars would not lead again, as Cincinnati pulled away with 10-5 run to close the match.
IUPUI will open its home Summit League games on Friday and Saturday, September 21 and 22, when they host Summit newcomers North Dakota State and South Dakota State, respectively. Game times will be a 7 p.m..
