IUPUI – Indiana State Box Score
The IUPUI women’s volleyball team traveled an extra 390 miles to take on in-state opponent Indiana State and closed the Tiger Invitational with a sweep of the Sycamores, winning 25-23, 25-18 and 26-24. With the win, the Jaguars finished the tournament 3-1, taking second place for the second consecutive tournament.
Lauran Thompson was the catalyst behind the IUPUI (5-2) attack, picking up her second consecutive double-double with 17 kills and 10 digs while hitting .419. For the match, the Jaguars hit .304 as a team, collecting 53 kills in just 125 attempts.
Thompson and Chelsea Bastin were selected to the All-Tournament Team by the tournament's coaches.
In the opening set, the two teams traded points until consecutive kills by Thompson and Dana Gardner opened a 10-7 Jags lead. Indiana State (4-3) whittled their deficit to one at 13-12, but kills from Cassidy Lambring and Thompson again gave IUPUI a four-point lead (17-13) and forced a Sycamore timeout.
Two Thompson kills created a five-point lead for IUPUI, but Indiana State rallied once more, closing to within 20-18 after a Jaguar attack error. However, Gardner came back with a kill after the IUPUI timeout to give the Jags a 21-18 lead.
Indiana State took the next four points, the last two on service aces to move ahead, 22-21. Still, the Jaguars did not panic, as a Shari Bernhardt kill knotted the set at 23. Another Bernhardt kill pushed IUPUI ahead by one. With the set tied at 23 following an ISU kill, a service error created a set point for the Jags. Bernhardt did not let the opportunity pass her by, as she recorded her third kill of the set to give IUPUI an early 1-0 lead.
IUPUI stepped up their defense in the second set, holding the Sycamores to a .114 hitting percentage while hitting .297 themselves. Thompson had eight kills in the set, helping the Jaguars snap an 11-11 tie with a 7-1 run that essentially sealed the set.
ISU came no closer than five points the rest of the way, as IUPUI cruised to a 25-18 win and a 2-0 set lead.
However, the Sycamores rallied in the third set, going on a 3-0 run midway through to assume a 15-12 lead. Another kill coming out of the timeout pushed the ISU lead to four, but the Jags slowly came back, eventually closing to within a point at 20-21 on a kill by Monica Suding, forcing an Indiana State timeout.
The one-minute break appeared to help the Sycamores, as they took the next two points to go ahead, 23-20, moving close to forcing a fourth set. However, another kill from Suding, followed by an ISU attack error, reduced the Jags’ deficit to one and caused the Sycamores to burn their final timeout.
Bernhardt emerged from the break and tied the set with a kill, but ISU created a set point following a kill of their own. IUPUI staved off a fourth set after an attack error, and after a second consecutive attack error, the Jags faced match point. Bernhardt tallied her 12th kill of the match to close it out.
IUPUI will be in action on September 9, when they travel to Muncie, Ind., to face Ball State. The match will begin at 7 p.m.
