Box Score (.pdf) | Steve Payne and Shari Bernhardt Postgame Interview | Highlights

INDIANAPOLIS – Heading into the night, Shari Bernhardt’s name was near the top of most of IUPUI’s single-game, single-season, and career digs charts, but the Plainfield, Ind.-native set a new school record with 44 digs leading the Jaguars past Oakland, 3-2, Tuesday evening giving the Jags their fifth straight victory.

Earlier this season in Summit League play, IUPUI held two sets to none or two sets to one leads over North Dakota State, South Dakota State, and IPFW, only to watch those leads disappear and ultimately result in losses. Even though Oakland rallied from a two sets to none deficit Tuesday night, IUPUI came together in the fifth and final set and pulled out the win.

“We learned from what happened earlier this season when we were up two sets to none or two sets to one and lost those matches,” said head coach Steve Payne. “We came out strong in set five and it always helps if you get stronger as you go.”

Part of the reason the Jags were able to bounce back was due to their back row defense which tallied 113 digs, the ninth best single-match mark in school history. Forty-four of those digs came from Bernhardt, proving to be three more digs than the previous record that was held by Erin Jones, who dug up 41 balls against Tennessee Tech on Sept. 17, 2005.  

“I didn’t realize how many digs she had as the match was going on, but she was everywhere tonight,” Payne said. “We were filtering the ball to her as much as we could with our defense to have her try and touch the ball as much as she could and [the record] is much deserved.”

“I knew this was a big conference game and Oakland is always pretty tough competition. I was kind of in a zone and we were really meshing well together as a team,” Bernhardt said. “It was a lot of fun out there playing together as a team.”

While Bernhardt’s effort highlighted the night, IUPUI had several other players reach personal milestones. Moriah Fair led all players with a career-high 22 kills in addition to a career-best 22 digs, becoming the 10th player in school history to record 20 kills and 20 digs in a match.

Kelsey Hoefer fell just shy of 20 kills posting a career-best 19 kills, while Bethany Fogler moved onto IUPUI’s single-season Top 10 list in solo blocks, block assists, and career blocks with four total blocks on the evening, which featured one solo block and three block assists.

Fair carried the Jaguars in set one posting seven of the team’s 21 kills. Midway through the opening set, the Jags used two kills by Alexis Meeks, and kills from Fair and Fogler to jumpstart a 6-1 surge that opened up a 16-11 IUPUI lead. Oakland closed within two points at 18-16, but Hoefer and Fair proved to be too much to handle down the stretch as the duo carried the Jaguars to a 25-21 first-set win.

The second set featured 12 ties and six lead changes until Kalyse Reimbold single handedly gave IUPUI a cushion it would not relinquish. With the score tied at 16, Reimbold registered a kill and then collected a solo block, before recording another kill to push IUPUI in front, 19-16. Down the stretch, Reimbold picked up another solo block and kill helping IUPUI take set two, 25-19.

After falling behind 6-2 early in set three, the Jags responded and eventually used a Hoefer kill to jump ahead, 13-12. A four-point Oakland spurt gave the Golden Grizzlies an 18-14 lead, but the Jaguars were able to cut the deficit to one point on two occasions, with the last at 24-23. Unfortunately, an IUPUI serve sailed past the baseline handing Oakland the 25-23 set-three victory.

The Jags looked to be in control in the fourth set holding on to four-point leads at two different points, with the last at 20-16. A seven-point rally by Oakland silenced the crowd and catapulted OU on top 23-20, but two kills from Fair, a kill from Hoefer, and a Golden Grizzlies service error helped IUPUI knot the score at 24, forcing Oakland to burn a timeout. However, out of the timeout, back-to-back Jaguars attack errors gave the Golden Grizzlies a 26-24 fourth-set win, sending the match to a decisive fifth set.

Three kills by Fair helped IUPUI storm out to a 6-1 lead in the fifth set to seize all the momentum. With its lead still at five points late in the fifth set, 13-8, Meeks went to Hoefer on back-to-back points and she delivered powerful kills securing the 15-8 fifth-set win for the Jags.

Additionally, two other IUPUI players registered career highs on the evening with Beth Howard posting a career-best 16 digs and Reimbold tying a career-high with three solo blocks.

The Jags are back in action this weekend hosting North Dakota State and South Dakota State on Friday, Oct. 14 and Saturday, Oct. 15, respectively. Saturday’s match against the Jackrabbits marks IUPUI’s Dig Pink match as the Jags will be wearing pink jerseys in supports of breast cancer research.