DENVER, Colo. – A stellar showing by both teams that came down to the wire, the IUPUI volleyball team (11-15, 7-4) came up just short in a comeback bid against Denver (18-6, 10-2) Saturday night (Oct. 29), falling in five sets (18-25, 25-23, 17-25, 25-19, 6-15) to snap the Jags five-match win streak. 
 
Gabby Fisher and Kori Waelbroeck were workhorses for IUPUI, as both hitters picked up double-doubles in the loss.  Fisher went for a match-high 19 kills on a .316 clip, adding 16 digs on the busy night.  Waelbroeck slugged 17 kills with 12 digs, while Alexis Mapes once again came through with a double-double, tossing 44 assists and 16 digs.  Abby Boatman led her team with five total blocks (two solo, three assists).
 
As a team, the Jags hit .151 for the match, falling behind the Pioneers .256 outing.  A rarity in matches through the season, the Jags were out-blocked, picking up nine total to 10 for Denver.  The Jags did, however, come through with great efficiency in other areas, logging a .978 serve percentage, committing just two errors to six aces in the match.  Fisher and Boatman led the Jags with two aces each. 
 
A rough way to start the evening, the Jags found themselves in a quick hole after the Pioneers lit up the Jaguar offense on two blocks through the first four points, pitting IUPUI to a quick 0-4 hole.  The deficit would hold steady until 4-8, when the Jags started a rally on a kill from Elizabeth Scott.  From there, IUPUI managed to make it a one-point game, getting as close as 10-11 on a knock from Fisher.  After the teams exchanged a point each, Denver went off on a 5-1 run, guided by two blocks during the stretch, to go up 12-17.  The Jags weren't able to close the gap, as the deficit grew while the Pioneers pulled away with the first set, 18-25.  Due in the large part to the defensive effort at the net by the Pioneers, the Jags were held to a .000 attack percentage in the set, knocking 11 kills to 11 errors on 33 attempts.
 
Once again stumbling out of the gate, a 1-4 deficit put the Jags in a sour spot to begin action in the second set.  The gap grew between the teams, as Denver stretched it to a 5-10 lead on four total errors from IUPUI.  A well utilized timeout by Head Coach Steve Payne seemed to make all the difference in the world, as the Jags went off on a 7-1 run to actually claim the lead, 12-11.  The run came due in large part to a pair of solo blocks by Waelbroeck and Logan Walling, as well as two kills from Fisher.  With the momentum officially swinging their way, the Jags stretched their lead to as many as six points, and saw it shrink to as little as one, before wrapping things up on a kill from Fisher.  IUPUI won the set, 25-23.  The Jags .226 clip for the set was the second-best of the night by IUPUI, as the Pioneers swung just .158.
 
Guided by three-straight kills from Waelbroeck in the early goings for set three, IUPUI sprouted a 6-2 lead to start the frame.  One block, however, seemed to thwart all that the Jags had going for them in the hot start, as Boatman was denied on an attack by Becca Latham and Emma Willis.  That came as the first point in a 7-0 run for Denver, giving them an edge after rallying for the lead, 6-9.  The Jags managed to fight back, getting a pair of blocks from Boatman as well as a kill to eventually tie the game at 10-10.  The teams would push the deadlock deeper into the set, eventually squaring up at 14-all.  Back-to-back aces seemed to be the dagger in the back of the Jags however, as the Pioneers would take the lead and eventually pull away, leading by as many as eight points in the late going to take the set, 17-25.  Erratic again on offense, IUPUI hit .030 on nine kills and eight errors. 
 
The fourth set was the finest showing for the Jaguar offense on the night, as IUPUI hit .400 in the frame, socking 18 kills with just two errors on 40 attempts.  IUPUI leapt out to a 4-0 lead thanks to a pair of Fisher aces to stump the Pioneers early.  The lead would never vanquish, as the well-oiled Jaguar hitting machine went to work, dismantling the Denver defense.  Waelbroeck lit it up for nine kills on a .643 clip in the set, Fisher added five kills, and Scott and Boatman combined for four kills as the Jags stymied the Denver back row.  They'd easily cruise to a set victory, 25-19, and force a decisive fifth set.
 
Unfortunately for IUPUI, things seemed to end how they began.  The Jaguars were limited to a .000 hitting percentage, coming on five errors to just five kills, as the Pioneers easily won the final frame, 6-15.  Denver's offense hit a blistering .500, as IUPUI was held without a block for the first time all night.  Denver did not commit an offensive error in the set.
 
With the loss, the Jaguars will look to bounce back on the road against Fort Wayne Tuesday (Nov. 1) at 7 p.m. EST.  The match will have live audio play-by-play available via IUPUI Live! on the IUPUIJags.com website.
 
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