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MACOMB, Ill. -- It was not pretty at times, but the IUPUI volleyball team found a way to win, as they have throughout the 2009 season. The Jaguars rallied for a 3-2 win at Western Illinois on Saturday night at Brophy Hall. The victory gave IUPUI an even 20 on the season and clinched the number two overall seed in the forthcoming Summit League Tournament with a 22-25, 25-20, 24-26, 25-20, 15-11 win.
IUPUI (20-9, 12-6 Summit) missed some chances early to shorten the match, eventually falling behind Western Illinois (10-21, 5-13 Summit), 2-1, before rallying in the final two sets of the match. The Jaguars' defense fueled the comeback, as three Jaguars had 20 or more digs in the match, led by
Shari Bernhardt's career-high 37 digs.
Rachel Holmes had 24 digs for the Jags, while
Danielle Goodnight posted 20.
The Jaguars had a season-high 119 digs in the victory. The 119 digs tied for the fifth-most digs in a five-set match in school history.
After missing out on a set-point opportunity on the third set and falling behind by a set, the Jaguars trailed late in the fourth set, 18-17. However, a Western Illinois error knotted the set, and IUPUI took advantage, as Holmes came up with a kill off a Goodnight feed to put the Jaguars in front for the remainder of the set. Bernhardt followed Holmes with an ace, and IUPUI cruised to a 25-20 win to knot the match.
When the Jaguars jumped out to a 3-0 lead after a
Lauran Thompson kill, it looked like IUPUI would waltz to their 12th Summit League win of the season; however, the Fighting Leathernecks responded with a 7-1 run to go up 7-4 and force IUPUI into a timeout.
Slow starters throughout the year, the Jaguars took whatever coach
Steve Payne said to heart, rolling off a 6-0 run coming out of the 75-second break;
Monica Suding came up with her 15th kill of the night to give the Jags the sideout before Hillary Houston# took over with her serve. In keeping WIU off balance, Houston helped IUPUI knot the match on kills from
Kalyse Reimbold and Goodnight.
Two straight Western Illinois errors put IUPUI ahead, 9-7, before another Reimbold kill put the Jaguars out front by three. After a timeout, the Leathernecks tied the set at 10, but Goodnight fed
Ashley Johnson for a kill to give the Jags a crucial sideout. Johnson and Holmes responded by coming up with blocks on consecutive points to secure the momentum for IUPUI and give the Jaguars a 13-10 advantage.
Johnson and Reimbold collaborated on a block to create match point for IUPUI before a Reimbold overhand kill put an end to the match and gave the Jaguars the second-best record in The Summit League.
With the victory, IUPUI extended their school-record wins total to 20 victories heading into The Summit League Tournament. Goodnight and Johnson each extended their school records for career assists and single-season solo blocks, as well.
Reimbold led the Jaguars with 16 kills, while Suding added 15 on .244 hitting. Both Goodnight and Reimbold finished with double-doubles; Goodnight added 47 assists to her 20 digs, while Reimbold chipped in with 10 digs.
Lindsey Weber was the fifth Jaguar with 10 or more digs with 11.
The Jaguars will be the No. 2 overall seed for The Summit League Tournament, where they will meet No. 3 IPFW in the first round. The two teams split their meetings, with IPFW taking a five-set win in Fort Wayne, while the Jaguars swept the Mastodons on Nov. 6. The match will begin at 5 p.m. CT from Fargo, N.D..
