INDIANAPOLIS – After jumping out to a two sets to none lead, the IUPUI volleyball team had trouble putting away a feisty Charlotte 49ers squad, but a late rally in set four gave the Jags a 3-1 win in its first match of the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational Friday night at The Jungle.
The win improved the Jaguars to 3-2 on the season, while Charlotte's record dipped to 2-2.
Kaitlyn Hickey led the Jags with 13 kills, while
Logan Walling and
Skylar Wright added 12 and 11, respectively. Walling hit a team-high .412, and
Kori Waelbroeck came off the bench and put down nine kills and hit .400 in the final two sets.
Defensively, IUPUI had four more digs than Charlotte thanks to
Courtney Halter's 17, but the 49ers edged the Jags in blocking, 11.0 to 8.0.
IUPUI struggled early in set one but it quickly turned the tides thanks to some Charlotte miscues and two kills apiece from Hickey,
Abby Horn and Walling. With Charlotte leading 8-5, the Jags managed to take 15 of the next 18 points to seize control at 20-11. From that point the Jags cruised to a 25-18 win.
In set two, it was a six-point run in the early going that gave IUPUI a lead it would not relinquish. With the score tied at 4-4, a 49ers service error, kills from Wright and Walling, an ace from
Jessica Helms and two Charlotte errors put the Jaguars in front, 10-4. The rest of the way, the Jaguars advantage never dipped below four as IUPUI took a two sets to none lead with a 25-17 set-two win.
Out of the 10-minute break, the 49ers got out to a 10-5 lead, and even though the Jags were able to close within three at 12-9, Charlotte was able to push its lead to 17-10 forcing a Jags timeout. That timeout ignited a run in which IUPUI scored five of the next six points forcing a Charlotte timeout with its lead cut to three. The 49ers captured the next three points, but a four-point spurt capped by a Walling ace inched the Jags within two at 21-19, forcing the 49ers second timeout of the set. IUPUI closed within one on a few occasions, but Charlotte put down some clutch kills to finish off a 25-22 third-set win extending the match to a fourth set.
Both teams went on a series of three to four point runs in the fourth set, but the score remained knotted as late 21-21. A Walling kill off a great rally gave the Jags a 22-21 lead, and an attack error ensued upping the lead to 23-21. After a Charlotte side out, a 49ers block evened the score at 23-23 resulting in a Jags timeout. Charlotte had a trio of set points spoiled by the Jaguars, before IUPUI got its first opportunity at match point on a block from Hickey and Horn. After a pair of side outs gave the Jags their second match point, a kill from Waelbroeck stamped shut a 29-27 fourth-set win.
Up next for the Jaguars is a pair of home matches on Saturday, Sept. 5, when they take on Eastern Michigan at 12:30 p.m. and West Virginia at 6:30 p.m.
