Box Score

FARGO, N.D. -- Depleted by injury, the IUPUI volleyball team fought gallantly but fell short against North Dakota State, losing 3-1 at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.  The Jaguars came away with 80 digs as Shari Bernhardt turned in a career-high 26 in the 27-25, 14-25, 16-25, 22-25 defeat.

IUPUI (9-9, 2-3 Summit) dropped to .500 for the first time in 2008, while North Dakota State (11-3, 5-0 Summit) moved to 3 games ahead of the Jaguars in The Summit League standings.  Still, IUPUI remains in the hunt for a Summit League Tournament berth with over half their schedule still remaining.

Depleted at the middle of the net due to the absence of Monica Suding, the Jaguars allowed the Bison to hit .315, while hitting just .163 themselves.  Kalyse Reimbold led the Jags with 23 kills, while Lauran Thompson and Bernhardt had 9 apiece.

From the outset, the Jaguars gave the Bison all they could handle, as they traded points throughout the first set.  A Nicole Sheridan kill put NDSU ahead, 12-8, but Steve Payne took a timeout to stem the momentum.  IUPUI responded, using a 6-2 run to knot the set at 14 following a Reimbold kill.

Still, the Bison used a 4-1 run late in the set to go up 24-21 and seemingly clinch the opening set.  However, an Ashley Johnson kill cut the deficit to two, and after consecutive Reimbold kills, the Jags had saved three set points and tied the set at 24. 

Following a NDSU timeout, Reimbold tallied her third straight kill to give IUPUI their first set point of the evening.  The Bison responded by going to Brooke VandenBergh, who recorded one of her XX kills to tie the set at 25.  On the next point, Dana Gardner and Thompson came away with a block on VandenBergh, creating set point #2 for the Jags.  Thompson sealed the set with a kill, giving the Jaguars a stunning 27-25 opening set win.

Rather than let the loss linger, North Dakota State came out the aggressor in the second set, racing out to a 9-4 lead, causing a quick IUPUI timeout.  The Jaguars responded after the break, forcing a North Dakota State timeout after closing a seven-point deficit to five after a Reimbold kill.

Still, NDSU continued to apply pressure to the Jags, stretching their lead to seven at 17-10 following a service ace.  Payne took a timeout to try and halt the Bison's momentum, but North Dakota State pushed the lead to 11 before a Thompson kill stopped a 9-1 NDSU run.  However, two more points evened the match at a set apiece as the Bison won, 25-14.

As they did in the second set, North Dakota State came out aggressive, taking a 5-2 lead following an IUPUI attack error.  However, instead of allowing NDSU to stretch the lead, IUPUI took three straight points to tie the set at 5, forcing a Bison timeout.

Four straight points by NDSU after the timeout forced IUPUI into a timeout, but the Bison stretched a 9-5 lead to 15-9 after a kill by Kristen Hille.  From there, the Jags used three straight NDSU attack errors, the final coming on a block by Johnson and Thompson to make it a 15-12 Bison lead and forcing the home team into a timeout.

Again the Bison responded, and following a Thompson kill made it 15-13, a VandenBergh kill gave NDSU a three-point lead and momentum.  The Bison took three more points following an IUPUI yellow card to open a 19-13 advantage  and force the Jags into their second timeout.

From there, North Dakota State cruised to a 25-16 win, taking a 2-1 sets lead.

Needing a win to continue the match, the Jaguars started slow, taking a quick timeout when NDSU took a 3-1 lead.  The teams exchanged points throughout the set, but IUPUI could never gain the lead, closing to within a point on six different occasions.  The levy finally broke, however, as the Bison turned a 14-13 lead into a 19-15 advantage, causing Payne to burn his final timeout.

Playing just as tough as they had all evening, the Jaguars used kills by Reimbold, Thompson and Gardner to close within 22-20, forcing a North Dakota State timeout.  In taking two of three points, the Bison created a set point, but a Reimbold kill stymied the Bison and brought back memories of IUPUI's comeback in game one.  Unfortunately for the Jaguars, there would be no comeback, as a Hille kill gave North Dakota State the set and the match, 25-22.

IUPUI will look to break their three-match losing streak tomorrow, October 11, when they venture south to take on South Dakota State.  The match will begin at 8 p.m. ET from Frost Arena in Brookings, S.D.  Fans can view the match by clicking here, listen to it here or follow via live stats.