Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS -- The bad news for the IUPUI volleyball team is that technically they did not win the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational.  However, the Jaguars did tie for the best record in the tournament, going 2-1 in the two-day tournament after knocking off the Miami RedHawks Sunday at The Jungle.  Monica Suding was named to the all-tournament team after the Jags posted a 25-18, 22-25, 25-21, 25-19 victory.

IUPUI (6-1) continued to extend their best start in school history, taking control of the match late in the third set.  The Jaguars trailed Miami (1-5), 21-19, but Shari Bernhardt came up with three consecutive service aces to pull IUPUI in front by one.

"We just got into a great rotation late in the match," IUPUI head coach Steve Payne said.  "Shari served really aggressively and I think we were able to catch Miami off guard a little bit."

After Bernhardt's third straight ace, Miami took a timeout, but were not able to cool off the Jaguars.  Rachel Holmes came away with her first kill of the set to put IUPUI in a position to sideout to victory.  However, two straight RedHawk attack errors helped the Jags close the set on a 7-0 run and take a 2-1 lead into the fourth set.

Again in the final set, it was the Jaguars who pulled away late, closing on a 10-3 run to put away Miami.  Behind 16-15, Ashley Johnson crushed an attack to knot the set.  The kill seemed to get IUPUI rolling, as Johnson came up with an overpass kill to give the Jags the lead at 18-17.

Two straight RedHawk attack errors gave the Jaguars a three-point cushion, and they did not look back from there.  Suding and Lindsey Weber nailed back-to-back attack opportunities to make the score, 22-18, forcing another Miami timeout.

It was Holmes who would close the match, finding a seam down the line for the winning kill, which she struck from the 10-foot line.

Early in the match, it was IUPUI who came out the aggressor, building an early lead on Miami and not letting the RedHawks back into the set.  The Jags jumped out to a 4-1 lead after an ace by Holmes and kills from Weber and Suding.  Miami was able to close within a point, but the Jaguars were able to rebuild their lead, extending it to 18-13 after a Danielle Goodnight ace and two Miami errors.

However, leading by a set, IUPUI could not sustain their momentum as Miami hit .194 in the second set to even the match.  Just as they had in the first set, the Jaguars cruised to a big lead early, but this time it was the RedHawks who shored up their attack to go on a 14-5 run midway through the set.

The serve of Lisa Treadway particularly flustered the Jaguars, who struggled passing the ball and attacking strongly.  The RedHawks took six straight points on Treadway's service, opening a 20-13 lead before the Jaguars rallied once again.

Kills by Johnson and Lauran Thompson were sandwiched around a Miami error, helping IUPUI cut their deficit to three; however, the RedHawks took a much-needed sideout on Bernhardt's serve, reopening a three-point lead.  IUPUI was able to take three points on Miami's set point, but the deficit proved too much to overcome as the RedHawks tied the sets.

Miami would carry that momentum through most of the third set, until Bernhardt's service helped turn the tide for IUPUI.

With their 2-1 record in the 2009 IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational, the Jaguars tied both Northwestern and Western Kentucky for the top record in the tournament.  Due to their won-loss percentage by sets, IUPUI technically finished third in the tournament.

Suding finished with 37 kills in the tournament after tallying 14 in IUPUI's win over Miami.  The senior had a career-high 18 in the Jaguars five-set win over Western Kentucky.

IUPUI will seek to carry their momentum into their next match, when they will host Butler University at 7 p.m. from The Jungle on Wednesday, September 9.  The match will be carried on IUPUI Live!