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Ashley Johnson
Brian Drumm

TEAM EFFORT PUSHES JAGS TO SINGLE-SEASON WIN RECORD IN 3-1 DEFEAT OF OAKLAND

IUPUI concludes regular season at Western Illinois on Nov. 14

11/7/2009 9:27:40 PM

Box Score | Box Score (.pdf)

INDIANAPOLIS -- The IUPUI volleyball senior class of 2009 recorded their 60th win in four seasons with a 3-1 win over Oakland on Saturday night at The Jungle.  Celebrating Senior Night, the Jaguars set a new school record for wins in a season with their 19th, moving into sole possession of second place in The Summit League with the 25-10, 17-25, 25-18, 25-17 victory.  With the win, the Jags clinched a berth in The Summit League Tournament.

IUPUI (19-9, 11-6 Summit) finished a sweep of the teams tied for second entering the weekend by dispatching Oakland (17-8, 10-6 Summit) a day after taking out IPFW.  The Jaguars stood on their heads defensively -figuratively and literally - coming up with 91 digs in the four sets to go along with 10 team blocks.

A day after Danielle Goodnight set the school's all-time assists record, it was fellow senior Ashely Johnson's turn, picking up her 19th solo block of the season to set a new single-season record for the Jaguars.

In the back row, Shari Bernhardt led all players with 25 digs, while Lauran Thompson and Rachel Holmes each had 14 digs.  Holmes, Kalyse Reimbold and Danielle Goodnight each posted double-doubles, with Reimbold recording 11 kills to go along with 12 digs.  Holmes posted 10 kills while hitting .212; Goodnight finished two kills shy of a triple-double but finished with 37 assists and 14 digs.

"Tonight was a complete effort from everyone," IUPUI head coach Steve Payne said.  "We made some adjustments from the last time we played Oakland and we were able to come up with some big digs at big moments in the match."

Those adjustments were readily apparent in the opening set, as the Jaguars raced out to a 10-4 lead and never looked back.  Strong services kept the Grizzlies on their heels throughout the opening set as IUPUI continually went on 2-0 and 3-0 runs to stretch their lead to as much as 14 points at 22-8.  Hillary Houston gave the Jags their first set point with an ace, and an Oakland service error closed the set.

Having won by 15 points to start the match, the Jaguars seemed a little sluggish in the second set, as the Grizzlies seized momentum early in the set; just as IUPUI had raced out to an early lead, Oakland did the same, taking a 9-2 lead to force a Jaguar timeout. 

Slowly, though, IUPUI came back, eventually cutting their deficit to five points at 21-16, before the Grizzlies threw up a dual block to stop the Jags' comeback aspirations.  The Grizzlies evened the match on a kill from Allison Bell, sending the teams to their locker rooms tied.

The senior-laden Jaguars did not need much a pep talk from Payne, returning to the court shortly after the second set ended, seemingly having made the necessary adjustments in play.  After the team traded points early on, it was the Jags who began to pull away, as Bernhardt's service gave Oakland fits.

The sophomore did not tally an ace during her seven-point run, but in keeping the Grizzlies off-balance, it opened up the IUPUI attack, as Monica Suding tallied two key kills during the run, while Holmes and Reimbold chipped in as well. 

Shortly after the Jaguars had built a 10-point lead, though, Oakland sliced the gap in half, closing to within 17-12 before Goodnight tallied a kill on a well-placed ball to the back corner to settle the Jaguars and swing momentum.  Another Goodnight kill closed the set, giving the Jags a 2-1 lead.

Playing well defensively, it felt as if IUPUI's two-point lead early in the fourth set was actually larger, but the Jaguars slowly constricted the court on Oakland, coming up with dig after dig to fuel their offense.  The defense helped turn an 8-7 deficit into a 12-8 lead for the Jags, as Thompson's serve kept Oakland guessing.

Oakland's timeout at 10-8 did little to slow the Jaguars, as they began trading one point for two points and eventually opened a 19-13 lead after a soft tip ball from Thompson. 

Kills from Reimbold, Thompson and Johnson put the Jags in position to claim the match, which they did on a ball-handling error by Oakland.

With a win in their regular season finale, the Jaguars would clinch no worse than a tie for second place in The Summit League; they currently sit one-half game ahead of both Oakland and IPFW.  IUPUI will look for the clincher when they travel to Macomb, Ill., to face off with Western Illinois on Saturday, Nov. 14.  The match will begin at 8 p.m. ET.
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