Box Score
INDIANAPOLIS -- The IUPUI volleyball team overcame two set points in the fifth set to rally for a 3-2 win over defending Sun Belt Conference champion Western Kentucky on Saturday afternoon at The Jungle. The Jaguars took the last three points of the match to claim a thrilling 32-30, 23-25, 28-26, 26-28, 17-15 victory in their first match of the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational.
In the process, IUPUI (5-0) extended its best start to a season in school history. Four Jaguars finished with 10 or more kills, as
Monica Suding led the way with a career-high 18 kills. Her partner in the middle,
Ashley Johnson, had 13 kills, while
Kalyse Reimbold came on late to tally 17 kills.
Rachel Holmes rounded out the foursome with 11 kills.
"For most of the match, we just weren't in rhythm," IUPUI head coach Steve Payne said. "We could take three or four points, but never extend that to pull away. Fortunately, we managed one of those streaks late in the match."
It looked like IUPUI would squander an early 9-4 advantage in the fifth set, as Western Kentucky (2-3) used a 10-4 run to create their first set point opportunity. However, the Jaguars went right to Reimbold, who drilled a kill down the middle to knot the match at 14. After a Jordan Skinner kill gave the Lady Toppers their second opportunity to claim the match,
Danielle Goodnight fed Reimbold for her 17th kill of the match, another shot down the center of the court.
With Goodnight back to serve for IUPUI, it was Johnson who capitalized on an errant pass, spiking the over to give the Jaguars set point. Goodnight did not give WKU a chance to rally, coming up with a service ace to end the match.
For a period of time, it did not appear that a fifth set would be required, as the senior-laden Jaguars owned two set point chances in the fourth set. However, with IUPUI leading 24-23, Western Kentucky took two straight point to assume a 25-24 lead.
A kill from
Lauran Thompson and a Holmes service ace gave the Jaguars another opportunity to close the match, but the resilient Lady Toppers captured three straight points to close the fourth set, setting the stage for IUPUI to turn the tables in the fifth.
Overall, the match featured 21 lead changes and 52 tie scores. All five sets were two-ball games, allowing for plenty of tension throughout the afternoon session.
In the first set, neither team established a rhythm, as errors allowed both IUPUI and Western Kentucky to hang around. In set in which neither team led by more than four points, it was the Jaguars who used a 4-0 run to go up 17-14 after a Goodnight ace.
However, coming out of a timeout, Western Kentucky took four straight points to force an IUPUI timeout. The Jaguars burned their second timeout after falling behind, 23-19. Still, the one-minute break worked for the Jags, who knotted the set at 23 after three straight WKU errors.
With the teams trading points for the duration, IUPUI gained a critical side out with the score tied at 27. Johnson and Holmes stuffed Jordyn Skinner at the net, turning the tide for the Jags. Suding closed the set with a kill to give the Jaguars the 32-30 set win.
The Lady Toppers rallied in the second set, opening a 9-4 lead and hanging on the remainder of the set. Though IUPUI tied the set at 22 after a Holmes kill, errors came back to bite the Jaguars, as two straight attack errors paved the way for WKU to knot the sets at one apiece.
The third set once again featured an IUPUI comeback, as this time the Jaguars were able to erase a late deficit to claim the victory. Taking five straight points on Thompson's serve, IUPUI turned a 21-18 deficit into a 23-21 lead.
Though the Lady Toppers did tie the set at 25, kills from Thompson and Holmes gave IUPUI a 2-1 lead in the sets, which they would need later in the match.
The Jaguars will meet Northwestern in the fourth match of the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational at 7:00 p.m.. Live stats and live video will be available for the match, with Bill Potter (pbp) and Rich Coleman (color) on the call. Both can be found by clicking
here.
