INDIANAPOLIS – Trailing by two late in set one, the IUPUI volleyball team fought off four set points before putting a three-point rally together to win the opening set and it never looked back as it defeated Ball State, 3-0, in its home opener Wednesday night at The Jungle.
The win evened IUPUI's record at 2-2 and gave the Jags their third win all-time in the series against Ball State. The Cardinals suffered their first loss of the season as they dropped to 3-1.
Kaitlyn Hickey paced the IUPUI offense with 14 kills and she was joined in double figures by
Kelly Wachtel and her 10 kills, but it was the IUPUI defense stood out.
"I thought we really followed our game plan tonight and put up a good block against their attack," head coach
Steve Payne said. "They had some one-on-one opportunities that we were able to dig up, and I thought our defense was the difference tonight."
The Jags totaled 11 blocks on the evening and outblocked the Cardinals by three, while eking out a 52-50 edge in digs thanks in part to
Courtney Halter's team-high 14.
In the opening set, it was Ball State that looked to be in command as it held a 23-21 lead, but just as IUPUI did in its first three matches of the season it didn't give up. Kills from Wachtel and
Logan Walling evened things up, but Ball State managed to have four set points only to have each of them spoiled by the Jaguars. With the score tied at 27 following an
Abby Horn kill, it was back-to-back
Skylar Wright kills that closed out a 29-27 opening-set win.
Ball State looked to have bounced back after its first-set loss by jumping out to an 11-7 lead in set two, but three kills from Hickey, a block from Hickey and Horn and a kill by Wachtel spurred a five-point surge that catapulted IUPUI in front, 12-11. Following two ties, two more Wachtel kills highlighted a four-point run that put the Jags in front, 17-13, and down the stretch IUPUI never let its lead dip below three as it finished off a 25-19 win to take a two sets to none lead heading into the break.
Similar to set two, the third set was tight until a few Ball State miscues and an ace from Halter lifted IUPUI to a 14-10 lead. The Cardinals closed within two on a pair of occasions and was within three as late as 21-18, but a kill from Wachtel, two IUPUI blocks and a BSU attack error capped off a 25-18 third-set victory.
IUPUI will have a day off before returning to action on Friday, Sept. 4, when it hosts the opening day of the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational. The Jags welcome Charlotte, West Virginia and Eastern Michigan to Indianapolis for the two-day event, with IUPUI opening the tournament against the 49ers at 7 p.m. on Friday.
