Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. – Coming off an impressive 3-1 win in its season opener over Miami (OH), the IUPUI volleyball looked to finish its first tournament of the season with two more wins on Saturday to claim the Thunder Invite title, but the Jags salvaged a split against tournament host Marshall and Wright State to conclude the first tournament of the season with a 2-1 record.

In the first of two matches, IUPUI fell behind by two sets to Marshall before staging a furious comeback to force a fifth set. Unfortunately for the Jags, Marshall eked out a three-point win in the final set to halt the IUPUI comeback.

Despite falling short against Marshall, the Jaguars didn’t let the bad taste of the loss stay with them too long as they bounced back just hours later with a sweep of Wright State.

Offensively, Kaitlyn Hickey and Moriah Fair led the Jags in kills with Hickey posting 14 and 11, respectively, while Fair added 18 and six.

“We had a tough finish to Marshall, but overall this was a good start to see what our strengths and weaknesses are,” said head coach Steve Payne. “I liked the way we were able to come back from a two-set deficit, but we didn’t do the right things when it counted and came up short.”

Marshall 3, IUPUI 2
IUPUI began the day facing off against tournament host Marshall and things did not start as smoothly for the Jags as it did in their season opener. IUPUI struggled early and trailed 14-11 mid-way through the set, before a five-point Marshall run put the Thundering Herd in front by eight, 19-11. From that point, Marshall went on to easily take the opening set, 25-16.

Looking to even the match in set two, IUPUI bounced back and was in control for most of the set using kills by Hickey, Fair and Bethany Fogler to seize a 17-13 lead. Still holding on to a four-point lead, 18-14, Marshall put the Jags back on their heels with a seven-point run catapulting the Herd in front, 21-18, forcing Payne to use a timeout. Kills by Alexis Meeks and Fogler late in the set helped IUPUI trim its deficit to one point twice, but it could not draw even and fell in the second set, 25-22.

Out of the break, IUPUI used a series of three-point spurts to take a three-point lead and maintained that lead throughout most of the set, but Marshall continued to fight back eventually knotting the score at 17. Marshall looked to have the advantage taking a 22-21 lead late, but a Marshall attack error preceded a Hickey kill and a Meredith Farkas ace, placing the Jaguars on the door step of the set three win. Following a side out, the Thundering Herd put their next serve into the net giving IUPUI a 25-22 third-set win.

Things continued to go IUPUI’s way as a six-point rally out of the gates in the fourth set knocked Marshall back and forced the Herd to call a timeout to regroup. During the early run, Hickey and Fair each were responsible for two points, while the Thundering Herd contributed a pair of attack errors.

Marshall never truly threatened the IUPUI lead and the Jaguars advantage actually grew to 12, before they ultimately won the set by eight, 25-17, sending the match to a decisive fifth set.

In the final set, Marshall took the early lead, but IUPUI fought back to tie the match twice only to watch Marshall take a trio of points to recapture an 11-8 lead. A kill by Fogler was followed by a block from Kortni Wright and Hickey, closing the Jaguars within a point. IUPUI remained within a point as late as 13-12, but consecutive Marshall kills gave the Thundering Herd the five-set win.

Fair led IUPUI offensively with 18 kills and reached double digits in digs with 14 for her first kill-dig double-double of the season. Hickey added a double-double with 14 kills and 15 digs, while Fogler also reached double figures in kills with 10.
Beth Howard anchored the defense with a career-high 35 digs.

IUPUI 3, Wright State 0
Despite suffering a tough loss to Marshall, IUPUI shook off the defeat quickly and swept Wright State to get back on the winning track.

The Jaguars opened the match scoring courtesy of a balanced offensive attack and a handful of Raiders errors to take a 9-5 lead. The lead grew to as many as nine, 14-5, thanks to strong play at all six spots and the Jags cruised to a 25-16 win in set one.

The second set was much tighter throughout as Wright State remained within two points as late as 20-18. With the set getting tighter, Kelsey Hoefer and Fogler stepped up with kills before teaming up for a block giving the Jags a five-point cushion at 23-18. That cushion stood as a Fogler kill closed out the 25-20 set two victory.

Out of the intermission, IUPUI jumped out in front early, took control, and never looked back. The Jags used a seven-point run to open a 10-3 lead, and even though Wright State closed to within three points twice, a late flurry closed out a 25-19 set-three win.

The Jaguars collectively hit .276 and were led in kills by Hickey with 11. Kelly Wachtel hit .556 en route to five kills, while Fogler tacked on seven kills hitting at a .467 clip.

For the second straight match, Howard averaged over 7.0 digs per set by accumulating 22 in the three-set win. Alexis Meeks also put together her second straight double-double with 15 assists and 10 digs.

“In three matches, Beth already came through with 70-plus digs for us and had a great tournament,” Payne added. “She proved that she can fill that libero role for us and she played a big factor in our success this weekend.”

Both Howard and Fogler were named to the Thunder Invite All-Tournament Team.

The Jaguars host their first home game of the 2012 season on Tuesday, Aug. 28, when it welcomes Indiana State to The Jungle for a 7 p.m. match.