MOREHEAD, Ky. – Behind a team hitting percentage of .311, the IUPUI volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 (25-11, 25-11, 25-22) victory over Montana State in the opener of the Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational hosted by Morehead State Friday afternoon in Morehead, Ky.

Four IUPUI players hit above .300 in the match led by Kelly Wachtel's .467 hitting percentage as the Jags picked up their second win of the season. Moriah Fair led all players with 14 kills.

IUPUI cruised to a 2-0 lead thanks in part to holding the Bobcats below a .030 hitting percentage in each of the first two sets. Additionally, the Jags dominated behind the service line registering 10 aces compared to none for the Bobcats.

The Jaguars didn't waste much time taking control in the opening set using an ace from Alexis Meeks and kills from Kaitlyn Hickey, Fair and Wachtel to take a 7-2 lead forcing Montana State to burn an early timeout. With the Jaguars still in front, 8-5, a kill from Hickey kickstarted a 12-point run for IUPUI that expanded its lead to 14 points, 20-6. From that point, the Jaguars cruised to a 25-11 opening-set triumph.

The momentum continued for the Jaguars in the second set as they took nine of the first 10 points to take a commanding 9-1 lead. A pair of kills each by Kortni Wright and Hickey helped the Jaguars move their lead to double-digits, 17-7, before more kills from Wachtel pushed the advantage to 23-11. Consecutive aces from Logan Walling closed out another 25-11 victory.

The third set was much tighter from the outset until the Jags took a four-point lead at 12-8. Just when it looked like IUPUI would expand its lead further, the Bobcats fought back to tie the score five more times with the last occurring at 20-20. From that point, the Jags buckled down and used kills from Meeks, an ace from Beth Howard and a kill from Fair to take a 23-20 cushion resulting in a Montana State timeout. Montana State closed within one point at 23-22, but a kill from Fair and an ace from Meeks finished out a 25-22 third-set win.

In addition to Fair's 14 kills, Hickey reached double digits with 10 kills and did not record an error in 31 attempts to finish with a .323 hitting percentage. Hickey also set a career high with four solo blocks.

IUPUI continues the Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 7, when it takes on Morehead State and Saint Louis at 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively.