ST. LOUIS -- After struggling over the first two games of the Santo Bento Invitational, the IUPUI volleyball team rebounded strongly to capture third place in the tournament, knocking off Southeast Missouri State, 3-1, in their final match at the Bauman-Eberhardt Center on the campus of Saint Louis University.
Junior libero Chelsea Bastin earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, turning in 44 digs in three games. Bastin had a team-high 18 in the Jaguars 30-18, 30-23, 25-30, 30-28 win over Southeast Missouri State.
IUPUI (6-5) avoided falling below .500 for the first time this season with the win, using a season-high 21 kills from senior Devika Bellamy and a career-best 15 from freshman Lauran Thompson to take the match.
For Bellamy, it was the second-highest kill total in her career, falling just short of the 22 she had against Western Illinois on Oct. 27, 2006.
The Jaguars and Redhawks got off to even starts in the opening game, battling to an 8-8 tie before IUPUI went on an 11-4 run keyed by two Bellamy kills, one from Thompson and a service ace from Bastin. The 19-12 lead forced a SEMO timeout, but a Redhawk attack error and a kill from sophomore Monica Suding pushed the lead to eight.
From there, the Jaguars cruised to the 30-18 game one victory.
IUPUI was able to take an early advantage in the second game, leading 11-6 following two kills from Thompson and kills by Bellamy, Suding and sophomore Ashley Johnson.
Still, Southeast Missouri State (3-6) came back, knotting the game at 18 apiece after an IUPUI attack error. Following the timeout, Thompson carried the Jaguars, recording a kill to regain the lead for IUPUI and following it up with three straight aces to push the Jaguar lead to four and force a Redhawk timeout.
A kill by sophomore Danielle Goodnight increased the lead to five, and IUPUI was able to hold off SE Missouri for the rest of the game, winning 30-25.
Southeast Missouri State picked up their offense in the third game, hitting .273 while posting 17 kills in order to force a fourth game. A 5-1 run with the game tied at 17 gave the Redhawks control of the game, and they were able to lead by as many as five points, eventually taking the third game, 30-25.
However, IUPUI bounced back, turning a 5-5 fourth game tie into a 13-7 lead by capitalizing on four SE Missouri State errors along the way. Leading by seven after a kill from Bellamy, the Jaguars saw their lead dwindle to two points at 27-25, necessitating a timeout.
Coming out of the one-minute break, IUPUI was tied at 27, but a kill by senior Carol Newell put the Jaguars back on top, and following kills by Bellamy and Thompson, IUPUI took the fourth game, 30-28.
Goodnight had 50 assists for the Jaguars, while sophomore Rachel Holmes had 10 digs. Suding tallied two solo blocks and eight block assists, helping IUPUI come away with 14 team blocks. As a team, IUPUI hit .278 for the match.
IUPUI will take on in-state rival Ball State on Tuesday, September 11, at 7:00 p.m. from The Jungle.
