Box Score

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Entering the night with a magic number of three to claim a Summit League Tournament berth, the IUPUI volleyball team eliminated one of their pursuers with a 3-1 victory over UMKC Friday night at the Swinney Recreation Center.

IUPUI (15-12, 8-5 Summit) reduced their magic number to two with the 25-22, 22-25, 29-27, 25-22 victory.  Any combinaton of Jaguar wins and South Dakota State losses equaling two will put IUPUI into The Summit League Tournament.

The Jaguars got 25 kills from their starting middle hitters, as Monica Suding tallied a career-high 14 kills in the victory; Ashley Johnson had 11 kills - the third highest mark of her career.

The Jaguars took the opening set by hitting .256 and tallying XX sets in the opening set.  From the opening whistle, IUPUI was the aggressor, racing out to a 7-0 lead on kills by Johnson, Kalyse Reimbold and Suding, along with an ace by Chelsea Bastin.

IUPUI maintained their advantage through the entire set, as UMKC closed to within two points at 23-21 before a Shari Bernhardt kill gave the Jags a set point opportunity.  The Kangaroos took the next point after receiving a yellow card warning, but Bernhardt tallied her fifth kill of the set to put IUPUI ahead, 1-0.

UMKC (11-18, 4-9 Summit) evened the match in the second set, rallying late to down the Jaguars.  IUPUI led throughout the match, leading by as many as six at 18-12 following a kill by Bernhardt.  The Kangaroos rallied, taking the next four points to force an IUPUI timeout at 18-16. 

Suding came through with a kill to push the lead back to three, but the Roos kept fighting, eventually tying the set at 20 after a kill by Mandy Tipton; another Tipton kill gave UMKC their first lead since 3-2 in the set.  The Jaguars were never able to reclaim the lead in the set, as the Kangaroos converted their first set point chance to win, 25-22.

The pivotal third set featured nine lead changes and 16 tie scores, with IUPUI grabbing an early 6-3 lead on kills by Bernhardt and Johnson, forcing a UMKC timeout.  The Kangaroos came right back, taking five consecutive points to go up 8-6 and cause Steve Payne to burn a timeout.

The two teams traded points throughout the middle of the set, with neither team grabbing more than a three-point lead; UMKC led 14-11 before IUPUI went on an 8-2 run to go up 19-16 and cause UMKC's final timeout. 

Just as they had earlier in the set, the Kangaroos came out of the break aggressively, taking four straight points to go up 20-19 and cause the Jaguars to take their final timeout.  Again, the two teams traded points, and following a kill by Reimbold, IUPUI had a set point chance at 24-23; UMKC came through with a kill by Brittany Fossier to knot the set.

An IUPUI attack error gave UMKC a chance to take a 2-1 set lead, but a Suding kill knotted the set at 25.  The Jaguars' second set point came after a Roo ball-handling error, but another kill by UMKC tied the set at 26; their third set point opportunity came and went after another Kangaroo kill. 

Finally, with the set tied at 27, Suding tallied another kill to give the Jags set point #4; a bad set by UMKC gave the Jaguars a 29-27 win and a 2-1 set lead.

Needing one more set win to clinch the match and eliminate UMKC from postseason contention, the Jaguars and Kangaroos traded points early on, before the Jags took four straight points to go up 13-9.  Four straight UMKC errors led to the advantage.

The Jaguars were able to hold on to the lead, stretching it to 20-15 on a Suding kill and 23-17 after a Johnson kill.  While UMKC closed to 23-21, Bernhardt created a match point chance with her ninth kill of the match; two points later, a Kangaroo service error closed the match.

IUPUI will bus to Tulsa, Okla., where they will take on Oral Roberts Saturday night.  The match will begin at 7 p.m. CT at the Cooper Aerobics Center and can be followed via live stats by clicking here.