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INDIANAPOLIS -- The IUPUI volleyball team started strong and never looked back, sweeping Western Illinois, 3-0, at The Jungle Saturday night.  Playing their first Summit League match of 2009, the Jaguars tallied an impressive 73 digs in the sweep.

IUPUI (8-1, 1-0 Summit) trailed twice the entire evening - both times by 1-0 scores.  Hitting .267 for the match, the Jaguars equaled their offensive production with one of their strongest defensive efforts of the season - coming up with 10 team blocks to go along with their dig total.

"We worked on our blocking throughout the week and it showed tonight," IUPUI head coach Steve Payne said.  "Defensively, this was probably our best game of the season, and we paired it with a night in which we were extremely efficient offensively."

Rachel Holmes and Kalyse Reimbold each posted double-doubles for the Jaguars, as Holmes finished the night with 10 kills to go along with a team-high 17 digs.  Reimbold chipped in with 10 kills and 13 digs.

"Rachel is doing a great job on the right side right now," Payne said.  "She sees the court so well and her versatility adds another dimension to our lineup."

It was on Holmes' serve that the Jaguars first gave notice that they were locked in early; plagued with slow starts most of their home matches, IUPUI jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead and forced a Western Illinois (2-8, 0-1 Summit) timeout.

The 75-second break did little to slow IUPUI's momentum, as they quickly expanded their lead to six on an ace by Danielle Goodnight.  On Goodnight's serve the Jags built a nine-point advantage and after the teams traded side outs, IUPUI got back to business, assuming an 11-point lead.

Lindsey Weber and Ashley Johnson sandwiched kills around Leatherneck errors to make the score 16-5 and remove most of any remaining doubt in the first set.

IUPUI scored 17 points on their first rotation in the set before a late Western Illinois run created the final margin.

Western Illinois seemed to carry some of the momentum from their closing run to the first set into the second, as they sparred with the Jaguars midway through the set.  A 7-2 Leatherneck run tied the set at 12 and forced Payne's squad to burn a timeout.

However, Goodnight attacked on the first pass coming out of the break and IUPUI never looked back, maintaining a slim lead over Western the remainder of the set.  With a two-point lead late, it was Johnson who came up with a huge kill to make the score 23-20 and put the Jaguars in a position to claim the set.

Kills from Holmes and Monica Suding closed the set and gave IUPUI a commanding 2-0 lead heading into the intermission.

The Jaguars did not waste any time in the third set, building a 10-5 lead early, using back-to-back aces from Lauran Thompson to get the run going.  Though Western Illinois was able to stay within striking distance midway through the set, IUPUI put it away with a 10-5 run to close. 

Suding got the run going with a kill off a feed from Goodnight, and Reimbold chipped in two kills to make it an 18-13 IUPUI lead.  From there, Holmes and Thompson each contributed two kills to create a match point opportunity for the Jags - a Western Illinois error closed the match.

IUPUI finished the night with 40 kills and just 9 attack errors in 116 attempts; conversely, Western Illinois had 30 kills and 23 errors in 138 attempts.

The Jaguars will look to continue their school-record start when they host Ball State on Tuesday, Sept. 15.  The match will be streamed live on IUPUI Live! and will begin at 7 p.m..