Box Score (.pdf)

INDIANAPOLIS – Honored prior to the start of the match, seniors Kalyse Reimbold and Shari Bernhardt put up 13 kills and 34 digs, respectively, and watched Kelsey Hoefer put down  a career-high 22 kills helping the IUPUI volleyball team overcame an opening-set loss to defeat Western Illinois, 3-1, Saturday evening inside The Jungle.

Reimbold’s 13 kills moved her into the No. 2 spot in IUPUI history in career kills, while Bernhardt’s 34 digs pushed her season digs total to 608, becoming the second player in program history to surpass 600 digs in a season.

“[Kalyse and Shari] did a great job tonight and they’ve shown that they are some of the top players that have played here at IUPUI,” said head coach Steve Payne. “They have made this program what it is and they have made the program better throughout their careers.”

Hoefer’s 22 kills paced the way offensively, but Alexis Meeks distributed 54 assists and led the team to a .253 hitting percentage en route to the win.

“We started out pretty slow in set one and Western Illinois did a good job capitalizing on some of our errors, but we were able to pick up the pace from there and get in a groove,” said Payne. “Alexis did a great job getting the ball to our hitters and Kelsey had the hot hand offensively.”

Outside of an early surge that put IUPUI in front, 6-2, the Jaguars could not extend their lead further than that margin as their cushion jockeyed between two and three points for most of the set. However,  a four-point Leathernecks run late in the set placed WIU on top, 18-17, forcing IUPUI to burn a timeout. Five more ties ensued until a Leathernecks kill gave them set point, but a Bethany Fogler kill from the right side that split the block knotted the score for the tenth time at 24. Western Illinois had two more set points spoiled, while the Jags had one chance discarded before a block and a kill on an over ball secured a 29-27 opening-set victory for the Leathernecks.

The Jags capitalized on four WIU miscues and picked up two kills and a block assist from Hoefer catapulting them in front, 9-3. After the lead slimmed to five points, 10-5, a kill by Moriah Fair, back-to-back kills from Reimbold and another Leathernecks error opened a 14-5 advantage. Down the stretch, Hoefer contributed two kills while Meeks and Fogler tacked on a block helping the Jaguars cruise to a decisive 25-13 win in set two.

Four kills from Hoefer and a pair of kills from Reimbold and Fair placed IUPUI in front 14-10 out of the intermission. Western Illinois closed within a point at 14-13, but a pair of powerful kills from Fogler coupled with a Leathernecks error and a Reimbold kill helped IUPUI re-establish a four-point lead, 18-14. Still holding on to its four-point lead at 21-17, WIU rallied to close within a point before a kill off the net from Hoefer and a block from Hoefer and Wright put the lead back at 23-20. After an exchange of side outs, a Western Illinois service error gave the Jags a 25-20 win in set three.

Kortni Wright and Hoefer each tallied a kill and teamed up for a block aiding an early run that put the Jags in front, 6-0. The lead grew to 11-2 before a Leathernecks spurt brought them within five, 12-7, but Hoefer delivered a clutch kill kick starting a six-point run opening a double-digit lead at 18-7. Down the home stretch, kills from Fogler and Hoefer sealed a 25-10 convincing triumph.

Wright blocked a career-best nine balls, tying for the fifth-best single-match blocking performance in program history, while Hoefer added eight blocks also equaling a career-high. Fogler hit .526 for the match en route to 10 kills, while Fair tallied 22 digs.

The Jags have a busy final week of the regular season beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 8, when they travel to Terre Haute, Ind., to meet in-state foe Indiana State. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m.