MUNCIE, Ind. – The IUPUI volleyball team could not overcome a Ball State offensive attack that was clicking on all cylinders Tuesday evening resulting in the Cardinals defeating the Jaguars, 3-0 (21-25, 15-25, 23-25), at Worthen Arena.

The loss dipped the Jags to 4-8 on the season, while the Cardinals won their sixth consecutive match to improve to 9-3.

Ball State recorded 24 more kills than the Jags and hit at a .304 clip for the match thanks to Mackenzie Kitchel's match-high 17 kills on a .364 hitting percentage. Moriah Fair led IUPUI with nine kills.

"We did a good job limiting our errors tonight, but Ball State's offense was really clicking and we just couldn't stop them defensively," head coach Steve Payne said.

Seven kills in the early going of the opening set helped the Jags sprint out to a 12-8 lead over Ball State, but following a timeout, the Cardinals quickly battled back and tied the score at 14. A Kortni Wright kill gave IUPUI its lead back at 16-15, but an eight-point Cardinals surge propelled them in front, 23-16. A pair of kills from Meredith Farkas and a Skylar Wright kill highlighted a four-point response from the Jags to bring them within three, 23-20, but three side outs ensued finishing off a 25-21 opening-set win for Ball State.

Another Cardinals run early in set two helped them take a 7-3 lead, forcing Payne to burn an early timeout. A Fair kill shrunk the Ball State lead to three at 12-9, but it seized 11 of the next 16 points to open a nine-point advantage, 23-14. From that point, the Cardinals offset a Fair kill with two Mindy Marx kills to win set two, 25-15.

Multiple kills from Kaitlyn Hickey, a Logan Walling ace, a Farkas kill and multiple Ball State miscues made for a tighter third set and gave IUPUI a chance to put a rally together in order to take a lead. However, Kitchell delivered three kills in the next four points to help the Cardinals build a three-point lead, 17-14, forcing Payne to use a timeout in order to halt the momentum. The Jaguars closed within a point three times, including at 24-23, but an Alex Fueling kill gave Ball State the 25-23 third-set win to claim the match.

IUPUI returns to action on Friday, Sept. 20, when it begins the Wildcat Classic in Evanston, Ill., with matches against Miami (OH) and South Florida. The Jags meet the RedHawks at 11 a.m., before finishing the day against the Bulls at 6 p.m.