Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS -- The IUPUI volleyball team turned in the fifth-most kills in a four-set match in school history Friday night at The Jungle, turning away 110 Evansville attack attempts in a 3-1 victory.   In their first match of the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational, the Jaguars won, 25-23, 21-25, 25-16 and 25-21.

In the first year of new NCAA rules, the Jaguars were denied a chance to set a new school record for digs just by playing to 25 in each game, making the 110 digs even more impressive.

IUPUI (1-0) was led by junior Danielle Goodnight, who posted a double-double with a team-highs of 25 digs and 48 assists.  Two other Jaguars - senior Chelsea Bastin and sophomore Rachel Holmes turned in 20 and 21 digs, respectively.  Freshman Shari Bernhardt made her presence felt in the Jaguar lineup immediately, posting 18 kills and 19 digs.

The first set was a defensive battle, with neither team hitting better than .100 for the set.  The Jags posted 35 digs in the first set alone, with Goodnight picking up nine of them.  Bernhardt tallied seven kills, while sophomore Lauran Thompson had six of her 18 kills in the set. 

The two teams traded rallies at the start of the set, before IUPUI went on a 5-1 run midway through to take a 17-13 lead.  However, Evansville (0-1) rallied back to move within a point at 18-17, causing coach Steve Payne to call a timeout.

Coming out of the 1-minute break, the Jaguars went back on the attack, scoring three straight points to open a four-point lead.  Evansville again rallied to force another IUPUI timeout with the score knotted at 22, but two straight Bernhardt kills gave IUPUI a set point, and following a Purple Ace point, Bernhardt iced the set with her seventh kill of the set.

In the second set, IUPUI held a 10-7 lead before Evansville took 11 of the next 15 points to build an 18-14 advantage.  Bernhardt and Dana Gardner helped the Jaguars close to within a point at 19-18, but a kill from Evansville's Brooke Maher reopened the lead for the Aces, and they never let IUPUI closer than three points the rest of the set.

Following the eight-minute intermission, the Jaguars played inspired defense in the third set, holding Evansville to a -.026 hitting percentage, helping them cruise to a 25-16 win.  While the teams traded points in the early part of the set, IUPUI went on a 7-2 run midway through the set to build a 16-9 lead following an Evansville attack error.

The Jags pushed their lead to nine on an ace by Monica Suding, making it 20-11, and the Jags held on from there, breaking the 1-1 stalemate to move within a set of their first win of the year.

The fourth set was just as tense as the first and second, with the teams trading momentum throughout.  IUPUI broke a 10-10 tie with a 5-2 run, getting two kills from Bernhardt along the way, forcing a Purple Ace timeout.

Coming out of the break, the Jaguars were able to push their lead to five, but Evansville rallied to within two, forcing an IUPUI timeout.  A kill by Ashley Johnson gave the Jags an 18-15 lead, but again the Purple Aces rallied to tie the set, this time at 18.

However, another Bernhardt kill gave the Jaguars the lead once again, and consecutive kills from Goodnight and Thompson set IUPUI up to claim its first win of the year, 25-21.

The Jaguars will be back in action tomorrow, playing their second and third matches of the year when they take on Jacksonville State at 12:30 p.m. and Tulsa at 7 p.m. in the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational.  Both games will be at The Jungle and can be followed via IUPUI All-Access as well.