Box Score | Box Score (.pdf)

INDIANAPOLIS -- Playing one of their best all-around matches of the season, the IUPUI volleyball team cruised past visiting South Dakota State, 3-0, on Friday evening, opening a two-game lead on one of their closest pursuers for a Summit League tournament berth.  The Jaguars raised nearly $1,500 for breast cancer research as part of their Dig Pink fundraiser in the 25-20, 25-17, 25-14 win.

IUPUI (15-8, 7-5 Summit) hit .211 for the match, limiting South Dakota State (6-14, 5-7 Summit) to a .084 attack percentage - including a -.047 mark in the opening set.

Danielle Goodnight posted a double-double in the win with 32 assists and 12 digs; Shari Bernhardt the Jaguars' defensive effort with 19 digs.  In the front row, the IUPUI blockers stood tall, tallying 10 total blocks; Monica Suding had 2 solo blocks, while Rachel Holmes had the other solo block.

IUPUI head coach Steve Payne cited Holmes' play as one of the key reasons for IUPUI's success.  "We didn't have her up [in South Dakota]," Payne said.  "I think we were still trying to find a way to replace her that night and didn't play well.

"Tonight, we just played well in all facets - our passing was crisp, which fueled our offense.  And we played well at the net and were able to slow their attack, too."

Ashley Johnson had 6 block assists in the match, while Holmes and Kalyse Reimbold had three block assists apiece.

The IUPUI front row was at their sharpest in the opening set of the match, tallying 7 team blocks, forcing the Jackrabbits into the negative hitting percentage.  Johnson had five of her block assists in the set, while Holmes had all three of her assists in the set.  The blocks helped the Jaguars overcome an early 4-0 deficit, as they outscored South Dakota State 11-4 over the next 15 points.

It was a block from Johnson and Lindsey Weber that gave the Jaguars the lead for good at 8-7 and a Suding and Holmes stuff that forced the Jackrabbits into a timeout with IUPUI ahead, 11-8. 

Despite building a 16-11 lead midway through the set, IUPUI had to hang on down the stretch as the Jackrabbits took five of the next six points to force the Jaguars into a timeout; though SDSU tied the set on the next point, two service errors helped IUPUI retake the lead.  After the second error put the Jags ahead, 19-18, the front row returned to help the Jaguars take control of the set.

Reimbold and Johnson came through with a block to help IUPUI open a two-point lead; on the next two serves, it was Holmes and Johnson who stuffed the Jackrabbit attack, giving the Jaguars a 22-18 lead.  A Holmes kill closed the set and gave the Jaguars an early lead.

After hitting .049 in the opening set, IUPUI turned on the offense in the second set, slugging .214 on their way to a 25-17 win.  Once again the Jaguars erased an early deficit, capitalizing on back-to-back SDSU errors early in the set to force the Jacks into a timeout. 

Armed with a 10-7 lead, the Jaguars set about pushing for a bigger advantage, growing their lead to six points at 18-12 after a kill from Holmes.  South Dakota State came no closer than five points the rest of the way as the Jaguars cruised to a 2-0 lead.

In Brookings, S.D., it was IUPUI who fell behind by two sets, only to rally to take the third set and force a fourth set.  In The Jungle, the Jaguars barely set foot in their locker room before returning to the court to try and stay hot.

They did exactly that, opening an early five-point lead after a Bernhardt ace and back-to-back kills from Weber.  A South Dakota State timeout did little to stem IUPUI's momentum, as kills from Goodnight, Suding, Reimbold and Holmes pushed the Jags' lead to 18-10. 

The Jaguars' advantage grew to as much as 11, culminating on Weber's kill that ended the match.

IUPUI will be back in action on Saturday night, when the host conference unbeaten North Dakota State; the Bison's 31-match conference winning streak is the second-longest in Summit League history.  The match will begin at 7 p.m. and live stats and streaming video will be available.