Box Score
SHREVEPORT, La. – It was not how the IUPUI volleyball team would have drawn it up, but the Jaguars picked up a key Summit League victory Sunday night, rallying for a 3-2 win over Centenary Sunday night at the Fitness Center on the campus of Centenary College.
IUPUI (13-11, 6-4 Summit) moved one game ahead of South Dakota State for fourth place in the league standings with six matches remaining. The Jags and Jackrabbits will meet next Friday at The Jungle.
The Jaguars were led by the freshman duo of Kalyse Reimbold and Shari Bernhardt. Reimbold posted her second straight double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs, while Bernhardt had her own double-double with a team-high 14 kills and 12 digs. Monica Suding came through with a career-high 11 kills for the Jags, who survived, 23-25, 25-23, 14-25, 26-24, 15-8.
Centenary (4-20, 0-10 Summit) had never taken a match from the Jaguars, and in pushing IUPUI to five sets, staged the longest match in the 12-match history between the two teams.
The Jaguars, who traveled most of the day on Saturday to reach Shreveport, came out flat in the opening set, tallying just 5 kills and 32 attack attempts in a 23-25 loss. IUPUI spotted Centenary a 12-2 lead before mounting a furious comeback in the latter half of the set. A Dana Gardner kill got the Jags rolling, and service aces from Suding and Hillary Houston forced the Ladies into a timeout with the score, 13-8, in favor of Centenary.
Centenary built their lead back to 7 points, causing an IUPUI timeout, but the Jaguars came back once again, going on a 7-0 run to knot the set at 20. A Ladies attack error gave the Jags a short-lived 23-22 lead, and Centenary came away with three straight points to grab the opening set.
The Jaguars showed their mettle in the second set, hitting .255 and rallying from a late deficit to claim a 25-23 win to knot the match at a set apiece. This time, Centenary did not blitz IUPUI early, and the two teams traded points until a 4-1 Centenary run put the Ladies ahead, 18-15, forcing a Jaguar timeout.
While IUPUI took the first point coming out of the timeout, Centenary maintained their lead and pushed it to five points at 22-17, grabbing control of the set and causing Steve Payne to burn his second timeout of the set.
This time, the Jaguars responded, taking five straight points to tie the set at 22 after a Bernhardt kill. Jennifer Kunze gave the Ladies the lead back with a kill, but Lauran Thompson came back with a kill to tie the set, and Ashley Johnson created a set.
Still, the Jaguars reverted to their first-set form in the third set, falling 14-25. In the beginning of the set, it appeared the Jags had solved some of their problems, as two Suding aces and Centenary error put IUPUI ahead, 9-6. However, the Ladies took 19 of the next 24 points, going on an 8-1 run after Suding’s second ace to go up, 14-10, and force and IUPUI timeout.
The break did not help the Jags, as the Ladies extended their lead to eight at 19-11, forcing the second timeout of IUPUI. While the Jaguars were able to take the first point coming out the timeout, they were not able to rally as they had in the previous two sets, recording two attack errors to hand Centenary the set.
With their backs pressed up against the wall, the Jaguars came out the aggressors in the fourth set, building a four-point lead midway through the set on a kill by Rachel Holmes. The Jags were able to maintain the lead on another Holmes kill, making it 19-15 before Centenary rallied to tie the set at 19.
Eventually, Centenary created a match point opportunity after a kill from Ashlee Freeman; fortunately for IUPUI, the next Centenary attempt was out of bounds, knotting the set at 24. Thompson followed with a service ace, and Bernhardt converted an attack opportunity on the next point, helping the Jaguars survive with a 26-24 win.
The Jaguars improved to 4-3 in five-set matches by pouncing on Centenary halfway through the fifth set. Early on, IUPUI trailed, but took their first lead of the set on a Suding kill, making it 6-5. After the Ladies went up 7-6, a Bernhardt tallied her 12th kill of the match to tie the set at 7. Suding came through with an ace and kills by Johnson and Holmes helped IUPUI move ahead, 12-7 and force a Centenary timeout.
Thompson recorded her fifth kill of the match on the next point, putting IUPUI in firm control of the match; two more kills by Bernhardt clinched the set and match for the Jaguars.
Holmes had a career-best 38 assists for the Jaguars, while Kaley Huffman more than doubled her season digs total with 4 on the night. It was Holmes’s fourth career double-double and first of the season.
Four Jaguars – led by the 17 of Chelsea Bastin - had 10 or more digs, as Holmes had 14 to go along with Bastin, Bernhardt and Reimbold.
IUPUI will be back in action on Halloween night, when they host South Dakota State. The key Summit League match will begin at 7 p.m. from The Jungle.
