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INDIANAPOLIS – Wearing its pink jerseys in its annual ‘Dig Pink’ match in support of breast cancer awareness, the IUPUI volleyball team put on an offensive show in its new uniforms and downed South Dakota State, 3-0, Saturday evening in The Jungle.

The Jaguars more than doubled the kills output of South Dakota State putting down 53 kills compared to 26 for the Jackrabbits, with a match-high 15 kills coming courtesy of Kelsey Hoefer.

“I thought we had a lot more energy here tonight and we passed the ball really well so Alexis had a lot to work with and she moved the ball around,” said head coach Steve Payne.

“Alexis [Meeks] was moving the ball really well and she got me a lot of one-on-one attempts and it’s really important to put the ball away in those situations.” Hoefer said. “[Alexis] got our other hitters in those same situations and she just did a really good job.”

Two kills by Hoefer out of the gates helped the Jaguars establish an early 6-3 lead, before some sloppy play from both sides ensued. After taking the 6-3 lead, eight of the next 11 points scored were on errors, but despite the miscues, the Jags lead grew to four points, 12-8. A big block from Bethany Fogler and Moriah Fair gave IUPUI its biggest lead of the set, 15-10, but the lead dwindled to one point twice, with the last at 22-21, forcing Payne to burn a timeout. The 75-second break gave the Jags a chance to regroup and following a Jackrabbits service error, kills by Hoefer and Fair closed out a 25-21 opening-set win.

The Jaguars offense was clicking in set two as nine of their first 10 points came off kills. Despite their offensive success they found themselves behind on the scoreboard, 11-10. Trailing 12-11, a quartet of kills from the trio of Hoefer, Fair, and Fogler, placed the Jags on top, 15-12, forcing the Jackrabbits to use a timeout. Holding on to a two-point lead, 18-16, a kill by Kortni Wright followed by three consecutive SDSU errors widened the Jags cushion to six points, 22-16. Down the stretch, a pair of kills by Hoefer concluded a 25-19 second-set win.

Out of the intermission, an early IUPUI run was keyed by two Hoefer kills allowing the Jags to jump in front, 8-3. The Jags lead grew to as many as seven points, before the Jackrabbits rallied within two points, 16-14. However, the Jaguars quickly retaliated using a kill by Fair, an ace from Shari Bernhardt, and a kill from Fogler to re-establish a 19-14 advantage. From that point, IUPUI cruised to a 25-18 third-set win.

Additionally, Fair and Reimbold added 11 and 10 kills, respectively, while Fair collected 19 digs for her fourth kill-dig double-double of the season.

Prior to the start of the match, the volleyball team showed its support for its honorary captain, Jen (Mertz) Will, a former player for the Jags from 1998-01 who was diagnosed with breast cancer in April of 2011. Mertz and several of her former teammates were in attendance showing their support for the program and for its ‘Dig Pink’ match.

“It’s great Jen could be here for this as she is going through breast cancer right now,” Payne added. “We had over a dozen alumni out for this that played with her and we wish the best for Jen.”

The Jaguars will continue conference play next week on the road against Southern Utah and Oral Roberts. IUPUI first takes on the Thunderbirds at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, Oct. 20, before taking on the Golden Eagles at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 22.