MOREHEAD, Ky. – A night after sweeping Montana State to open the Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational, the Jaguars split a pair of matches on Saturday to conclude the tournament falling to tournament host Morehead State in five sets before bouncing back with a three-set sweep over Saint Louis. IUPUI finished the tournament in a tie for first place, but due to tiebreakers, the Jags claimed the tournament title.

For her efforts throughout the tournament, Moriah Fair was named MVP of the Tournament, while Kelly Wachtel and Alexis Meeks were also named to the all-tournament team.

The Saturday split moved IUPUI's record to 3-4 on the season, and the Jags finished the Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational with a 2-1 record.


Morehead State 3, IUPUI 2
Fair led the IUPUI volleyball team with 21 kills against the Eagles, but 13 team blocking errors came back to hurt the Jaguars as Morehead State rallied to defeat the Jags, 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 10-15), Saturday afternoon in the second match of the Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational.

Sloppy play in the first set by the Jags, including multiple net violations, allowed Morehead State to jump in front by double digits, 16-5. Trailing by as many as 12 points, 19-7, the Jags started to build some momentum using kills by Wachtel and Kortni Wright, and a block from Wright and Fair to help cut the deficit to eight, 19-11. Two kills at the left antenna from Fair and another Eagles attack error shrunk the Morehead State lead to five, and as the Jags continued to climb back in the set, three more Morehead State errors brought the Jags within three points, 23-20. A side out gave the Eagles multiple set points, but a pair of IUPUI blocks and a Wachtel kill from the right antenna brought the Jaguars within one, 24-23. Unfortunately, a Morehead State off the IUPUI block allowed the Eagles to hold on for the 25-23 opening-set win.

Another slow start put IUPUI in an 8-2 hole, but a pair of Meredith Farkas kills from the back row started a Jags surge that eventually resulted in IUPUI taking a 16-14 advantage at the midway point of the set. Eight consecutive side outs ensued keeping the IUPUI lead at two points, 20-18, until a block by Wachtel and Logan Walling gave IUPUI its biggest lead of the set, 21-18. However, three straight kills from Aryn Bohannon knotted the score at 21 forcing head coach Steve Payne to take a timeout. Out of the break, Hickey delivered a strong swing resulting in a kill before Bohannon missed the back line on her attack during the next point to reestablish a two-point lead for the Jaguars at 23-21. A great serve from Walling moved the IUPUI lead to 24-21 and following an Eagles kill, a Morehead State service error into the net gave IUPUI a 25-22 win in set two to knot the match at a set apiece.

IUPUI again fell behind but used the serving of Walling to take a lead at the midway point of the third set. Trailing by four, 16-12, Walling delivered two aces in the midst of a five-point surge that put the Jags in front, 17-16. With the lead still at one late in the set, 22-21, an Eagles attack error preceded a Wachtel kill giving the Jags multiple set points at 24-21. After a Morehead State timeout, Fair served up an ace to quickly earn a 25-21 third-set win.

Eight ties and three lead changes occurred in the early going of set four but it was a three-point spurt late in the fourth set that broke open a tight set and gave Morehead State a 21-17 lead. Still trailing by four, IUPUI was able to close that gap to one, 23-22, thanks to kills from Wachtel and Fair, and an Eagles attack error. Following a timeout, another Morehead State attack error tied the score at 23-23, forcing MSU to burn its second and final timeout. However, the Eagles took the next two points to win the fourth set, 25-23, and force a fifth set.

The trend of falling behind early continued in the fifth set, which put the Jags behind the eight ball in the race to 15 points. A Wachtel kill put IUPUI in front, 1-0, but four consecutive kills followed by an IUPUI attack error placed the Eagles in front, 5-1, and forced Payne to burn a timeout. Trailing by five, 10-5, the Jaguars strung together four straight points to close within one, 10-9, but Morehead State won five of the next six points to finish off a 15-10 five-set win.

IUPUI 3, Saint Louis 0
Five different players chipped in with either a kill or a block early in the opening set helping the Jags take an 11-7 lead over Saint Louis. Wright teamed up with Meeks and Wachtel for back-to-back blocks later in the set helping IUPUI take a 20-14 lead, but the Billikens slowly chipped away at the IUPUI lead and eventually cut their deficit to three, 23-20. A pair of Walling kills halted the Saint Louis rally and stamped shut a 25-20 opening-set win.

The Billikens were in control for the first half of the second set and held a 13-10 lead until the Jags offense started to click. After a service error from Saint Louis broke the Billikens run, Meeks went to Hickey and Wright and the duo put away five of the next six points to catapult the Jags in front, 16-14. Four ties ensued, with the last at 20-20, until kills from Wachtel and Hickey and an ace from Farkas helped the Jags create some separation and finish off a 25-22 second-set win.

Out of the 10-minute break, Saint Louis was the first to reach 15 points, but the Jags managed to tie the score four more times until a kill by Wright put IUPUI on top, 20-19. A block and a kill by Fair tied in with a Billikens attack error put the Jags on the doorstep of a three-set win and two points later, a Walling kill closed out a 25-21 third-set win for the Jaguars.

Wachtel and Hickey led IUPUI with 10 kills apiece. Meeks paced the Jaguars with 33 assists and added a match-high 17 digs.

IUPUI returns to action on Tuesday, Sept. 10, when it heads to Terre Haute, Ind., to take on Indiana State.