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NOTRE DAME, Ind. – For the first time in program history, the IUPUI volleyball team defeated in-state foe Notre Dame as the Jags closed out the 2014 Golden Dome Invitational with a three-set sweep over the Fighting Irish.
 
The win snapped IUPUI's five-match losing skid and improved its record to 2-5 on the season while the Irish fell to 0-4.
 
Kori Waelbroeck and Kaitlyn Hickey led a balanced offensive attack with nine kills apiece, but Waelbroeck hit a career-high .467 in the three-set win. Defensively, Beth Howard registered a match-best 20 digs helping the Jags out-dig the Irish, 47-40.
 
"I thought we played a complete match with our passing being very good allowing us to distribute the ball to all the hitters," head coach Steve Payne said. "We did a great job of finishing all of our sets today. It is a great win for the team and the program."
 
Two kills apiece from Waelbroeck and Hickey helped the Jags sprint out to a 9-6 lead in the opening set, but with Howard behind the service line IUPUI managed to go on a six-point run to take a 15-6 advantage. During the run, Waelbroeck, Hickey and Meredith Farkas each recorded kills and Waelbroeck teamed up with fellow freshman Gabby Fisher for a block to cap off the run. A kill from Logan Walling and an ace from Fisher later in the set upped the advantage to 22-9, and from that point the Jags cruised to a 25-13 opening-set win.
 
The second set was much tighter from the start, but it was another IUPUI run midway through the set that propelled the Jaguars to a second-set victory. Leading 14-13, IUPUI managed to take six of the next seven points thanks in part to three kills from Waelbroeck and consecutive aces from Alexis Mapes. Notre Dame closed within three points three times, with the last at 24-21, but a Fighting Irish service error gave the Jags a 25-21 second-set win to send them into the 10-minute intermission with a two sets to none advantage.
 
The third-set was a see-saw affair from the start with neither team holding more than a three-point lead until the Jags made a run mid-way through the set. Trailing 13-11, IUPUI rallied by taking eight of the next 10 points to seize a 19-15 advantage, forcing Notre Dame to burn a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Fighting Irish closed within one at 20-19, but a Notre Dame service error, a Howard ace and a block from Fisher and Hickey pushed the lead back to four, 23-19. The Irish mounted one last charge and closed within one at 24-23, but a Fisher kill cemented the 25-23 win.
 
The Jags now return home for their first home match of the season on Tuesday, Sept. 9, when they welcome Indiana State to The Jungle. The match is set to start at 7 p.m.