FARGO, N.D. – For the second straight night, the IUPUI volleyball team went to a fifth set and fell just short as it fell to preseason Summit League favorite North Dakota State, 3-2, Saturday evening in Fargo, N.D.

The loss dropped the Jags to 0-2 in league play, while NDSU improved to 2-0. The Jaguars looked to pick up their first win over North Dakota State but instead fell to 0-11 all-time against the Bison.

“We played well enough to pull out the win, but you have to give credit to North Dakota State as they just played better down the stretch,” said head coach Steve Payne. “We need to regroup, head home, and get ready to play a very good IPFW team on Tuesday.”

From the get-go, the Jaguars and Bison remained neck-and-neck before a pair of kills from Bethany Fogler followed by a Kalyse Reimbold kill in the middle of the set pushed the Jaguars in front, 16-13, forcing a North Dakota State timeout. The Jags moved its lead up to four on two occasions, but NDSU continued to keep it close cutting its deficit to one point twice. However, with IUPUI leading 23-22, a service error from the Bison followed by a Reimbold kill cemented a 25-22 opening-set win.

Behind Brynn Joki, North Dakota State seized control of the second set early and forced IUPUI to use both its timeouts after taking a 16-8 lead. The Jaguars were able to close within five points, 20-15, but the large deficit proved to be too much to overcome as they dropped the second set, 25-16.

Out of intermission, two NDSU attack errors, kills by Fogler and Kelsey Hoefer, and a Shari Bernhardt ace pushed the Jaguars out to a 5-0 lead. The cushion fluctuated between five and six points until a block by Fogler and Alexis Meeks coupled with three Beth Howard service aces and a Reimbold kill widened the Jags lead to 20-9. From that point, IUPUI coasted to a 25-12 third-set win, placing it in front two sets to one.

Unlike the previous two sets, the fourth set went back-and-forth until the Bison were able to get some breathing room with an 18-15 lead, forcing an IUPUI timeout. Out of the break, four consecutive points from the Bison pressed the NDSU lead to 22-15. A late Jags flurry brought IUPUI within two points, 24-22, but a Joki kill closed the door on a 25-22 win for the Bison in the fourth set, sending the Jags to their second consecutive fifth-set match.

The Jags won the race to eight points courtesy of some kills by Reimbold, Fair, Hoefer, and Meeks, but three straight NDSU points gave it a 10-8 lead, forcing the Jags to take a timeout and regroup. IUPUI closed within one point three times, including battling back from a three-point deficit to close within one at 14-13 resulting in a Bison timeout, but a Joki kill out of the timeout sealed a 15-13 NDSU win.

Reimbold led the Jags with 13 kills, while Fogler added 11 in the loss. Bernhardt paced the defense with 26 digs while Meeks set a new career high with five total blocks.

IUPUI continues conference play when it returns home to host in-state rival IPFW on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m. in The Jungle.