MACOMB, Ill. – Looking to bounce back following a tough four-set loss to Oral Roberts on Friday, the IUPUI volleyball team did just that with an impressive 3-0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-14) sweep of Western Illinois Sunday afternoon at Western Hall.
 
The win upped the Jags record to 12-6 overall and 3-1 in the Summit League, and the Leathernecks fell to 3-15 overall and 1-3 in the conference.
 
IUPUI dominated in nearly every statistical category, but especially on the defensive end by doubling up the Leathernecks in blocking at 10.0 to 5.0 and notching 52 digs to WIU's 44. Courtney Halter led the Jags in digs with a match-high 15, while Abby Horn and Logan Walling had five total blocks each.
 
Offensively, IUPUI outhit WIU .296 to .000 due in part to 26 attack errors for the Leathernecks. The Jags committed just nine attack errors in the match and served up six aces in the win.
 
Six kills from four different Jaguars and four Leathernecks attack errors to start the match allowed IUPUI to quickly seize an 11-3 lead in set one. Later in the set, kills from Kelly Wachtel and Gabby Fisher boosted the margin to 19-6. The first-set outcome was never in doubt and a kill from Kori Waelbroeck completed a 25-13 first-set win.
 
The Jags defense was up to the task in the first set holding WIU to a .000 hitting percentage, while IUPUI hit at a .286 clip. Alexis Mapes and Ashley Hacker did a great job of distributing the ball around to the open hitters as five IUPUI attackers collected multiple kills.
 
The impressive play continued in set two as three kills from three different players, an ace from Fisher and two WIU errors resulted in a 6-0 Jaguars start. Western Illinois would settle down and close within four at 10-6, but IUPUI would quickly put the set out of reach. The Jags captured eight of the next nine points to open an 18-7 lead, and two kills from Fisher kept that 11-point lead intact as the cushion moved to 20-9. A block from Hickey and Horn and kills from Wachtel and Fisher finished off a 25-12 second-set win, giving the Jags a two-set lead going into the intermission.
 
The momentum IUPUI built in the first two sets continued in set three. A pair of kills from Skylar Wright, a kill from Waelbroeck and a kill and an ace from Mapes put the Jaguars in front, 5-0, forcing WIU to burn its first of two timeouts. Three kills from Peyton Crosser inched the Leathernecks within two at 6-4, but IUPUI won six of the next seven points to widen its cushion to 12-5. Two straight WIU points made it 12-7, but a six-point run featuring a block from Wachtel and Horn and an ace from Hickey moved the lead to double digits at 18-7. From that point, the outcome was never in doubt and the Jags finished off a 25-14 third-set win.
 
IUPUI returns home Oct. 9-10 to host South Dakota State and North Dakota State, respectively, at The Jungle. The Jags welcome the Jackrabbits, who are coached by former IUPUI assistant Nicole Cirillo, for a 7 p.m. match on Friday, before meeting the Bison at 5 p.m. on Saturday.