INDIANAPOLIS -- The IUPUI Jaguars continued their winning ways Sunday afternoon, sweeping North Carolina A&T, 3-0, to set a championship match later tonight in the IUPUI Jaguars Hampton Inn Invitational at the IUPUI Gymnasium.
IUPUI (5-2) hit a season-best .350 for the match, swinging at over a .400 clip in the last two games, as they downed the Aggies, 30-26, 30-15, 30-11. Senior Carol Newell tallied her first double-double of the year, recording 11 kills and 11 digs. Newell hit .391 in the match. Fellow senior Devika Bellamy had 11 kills while hitting .526 in 19 attempts.
The Jaguars started slow, allowing North Carolina A&T (0-6) to build a 10-3 lead in the first game. However, the Jags roared back to knot the game at 19 as part of a 10-2 run. When Newell tallied a kill to make it 20-19, the Jaguars had their first lead of the game and sustained the lead, winning 30-26.
Newell and Bellamy had five kills in the game, while sophomore Danielle Goodnight had 15 of her match-high 39 assists.
IUPUI sustained their momentum in the second game, swinging at a .462 clip, tallying 20 kills in 39 attempts, with only two errors.
Defensively, IUPUI dominated the game, allowing only nine Aggie kills in 39 attempts. Freshman Lauran Thompson had five kills in the game and finished the match with nine.
The Jaguars closed out the Aggies in game three, taking eight straigh points on the serve of junior Chelsea Bastin and seven more on Goodnight's serve. Newell followed with five more points before freshman Dana Gardner closed out the match with a kill from Goodnight.
With the win, the Jaguars set up a chamionship showdown with Central Michigan at 6:30 p.m. in the IUPUI Gymnasium.