IUPUI - Troy Box Score | IUPUI - Memphis Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- After finishing second in the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational a week ago, the IUPUI volleyball team has positioned itself to finish just as high in the Tiger Invitational following a split of their opening matches in the Tiger Invitational on Friday night.  The Jaguars dropped their opener to Troy University, 3-1, before defeating host Memphis, 3-2, at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.

Troy 3, IUPUI 1
IUPUI (3-2) looked sluggish out of the gate, dropping their match versus Troy (2-3) in four games.  For the match, the Jaguars hit just .084 and were blocked nine times by Trojan front row players.

In the first set, Troy jumped out to a 6-1 lead, forcing an IUPUI timeout, and never looked back.  Three times the Jaguars were able to close within four points, but each time the Trojans were able to gain the next point and regain control of the set. 

The second set was tighter, with the teams exchanging the first 12 points.  However, the Trojans went on a 6-1 run to assume a 12-7 lead.  An ace from senior Chelsea Bastin closed the Jaguars' deficit to three at 10-13, but a Trojan kill and an IUPUI attack error pushed the margin back to five.

Again the Jaguars rallied, this time getting a kill from Lauran Thompson to come within three at 21-18, but the Trojans withstood the rally to get consecutive kills and coast to a 25-21 win.

Down two sets to none, the Jaguars dominated the third set, winning 25-9.  A quick 4-1 run gave the Jags a 9-6 lead, forcing a Troy timeout.  However, the 1-minute break did not stop the Jaguars' momentum, as IUPUI continued on with a 9-1 run, causing the Trojans to burn their second timeout.

An Ashley Johnson kill pushed the Jags' lead to 19-7, and IUPUI closed the match on a 7-2 run (16-3 since Troy's first timeout), getting a kill from Kalyse Reimbold and an ace from Thompson to win the set.

The Jaguars seemed poised to force a fifth and deciding set, trading points until the set was tied at nine apiece.  However, a quick 4-1 run by Troy forced an IUPUI timeout.  Slowly, the Jags worked their way back into the match, closing their deficit to one at 21-20, causing the Trojans to burn a timeout.

Coming out of the break, IUPUI was called for an attack error, giving Troy a two-point lead.  When the Trojans took the next point on a Jaguar attack error, their lead was three and they eventually took the set and the match, 25-20.

IUPUI 3, Memphis 2
The Jaguars showed their resolve when taking on the tournament hosts, defeating Memphis, 25-23, 21-25, 19-25, 25-22, 15-9.  The Jaguars moved Cassidy Lambring into the rotation, and she responded with a team-high 11 kills.  IUPUI's defense also stepped up, tallying 100 kills in the five-set match.

In the first set, the teams traded points, with IUPUI falling behind, 16-12, following an attack error. Coming out of a timeout, the Jags were unable to cut into their deficit, but slowly came back after a Memphis timeout.

Using the strong service of Danielle Goodnight, the Jags took five straight points, getting kills from Lambring and libero Chelsea Bastin to take a 23-22 lead. Memphis tied the match at 23, but a kill from Reimbold gave the Jaguars a set point, and another kill by Lambring gave the Jags an early 1-0 match lead.

The second set was evenly matched as well, with Memphis snapping an 11-11 tie with a 3-0 run to force an IUPUI timeout. While the Tigers’ lead grew to as many as 6, the Jags closed to within three on a Goodnight ace; however, a Tiger kill made it 24-20 and following a Lambring kill, a kill by Memphis’s Casey Sines evened the sets at one apiece.

With the sets tied, Memphis came out and assumed control of the third set, jumping out to a 7-3 lead. The lead expanded to as much as nine at 20-11, and the Jaguars never really mounted a threat, as Memphis won, 25-19, to put IUPUI on the brink of an 0-2 start.

Just as the third set started, so too did the fourth set, as Memphis led, 6-2, before an IUPUI timeout. However, the Jags came back, getting kills from Hillary Houston and Kaley Huffman  to take a 17-15 and force a Memphis timeout.

Another Houston kill pushed the Jag lead to three, but Memphis again tied the set at 18. However, a kill from Jessica Phelps gave IUPUI the lead again, and following consecutive attack errors by Memphis, IUPUI held a 21-20 lead. An ace from Bastin pushed the lead to two and Monica Suding followed with a kill to make it 23-20 and cause a Tiger timeout. Two Memphis errors gave the Jags their last two points and forced a fifth set.

Last weekend, IUPUI forced a fifth set against a Conference USA opponent (Tulsa) before falling. However, there would be no repeat for IUPUI as they took the set and match, 15-9.

Instead of Memphis jumping out to a quick lead, it was the Jaguars assuming control with a 4-1 lead on the backs of kills from Shari Bernhardt and Suding. Memphis tied the match at 5 and at 6 before the Jags took control again, using a kill by Dana Gardner and two Tiger attack errors to take a 9-6 lead.

The Tigers would close to within two, but IUPUI dug deep, using kills from Lambring and Thompson to halt rallies. Another Thompson kill pushed the lead to 13-8, and following a Bastin ace, a Thompson kill closed the set and match.

The Jaguars will be back in action tomorrow, September 6, versus Iona College and Indiana State in their final two matches of the Tiger Invitational. IUPUI will take on Iona at 10 a.m. ET and follow up that match with one against Indiana State at 5:30 p.m. ET.