FAIRBORN, Ohio – For the second-straight match IUPUI was pushed to five sets by a conference opponent. For the second-straight match IUPUI pulled out a five-set win to stay on top of the Horizon League standings.
 
IUPUI beat Wright State 3-2, with a 15-12 fifth-set win to move to 7-2 in conference play. With the win the Jags move to 6-2 in five-set matches and 3-0 in five-setters in Horizon League play, including a five-set win against the Raiders in the first matchup of the season.
 
It was the left arm of Kori Waelbroeck that led the Jags, as the senior pounded out a match-high 23 kills on a .288 hitting percentage.
 
The Jags (11-11, 7-2 Horizon) struggled on offense all night, hitting .169, the lowest hitting percentage in any win this season, but got kills when they needed them.
 
After Waelbroeck's 23, Haley Hoffman and Abby Boatman each finished with nine kills and Gabby Fisher posted eight. The offense was guided by Maggie Gibson's 45 assists. Gibson and Waelbroeck each also posted double-doubles with 19 and 12 digs respectively.
 
Defensively, IUPUI out-blocked its opponent for the ninth-straight game finishing with 10 blocks to Wright State's seven. Boatman led the way at the net with six blocks while Gibson and Hoffman each had four. The Jags also finished with four players with double-figure digs. Senior Jessica Helms led the way with 20 and Elizabeth Scott to go with Waelbroeck and Gibson.
 
Wright State (9-14, 3-7 Horizon) gave IUPUI all it could handle in the middle as Teddie Sauer led the Raiders with 18 kills and Megan Hopkins added 17. After 11 errors in the first set, the Raiders offense found more of a rhythm spearheaded by Maddie Lohmeier's 48 assists.
 
The first set began with the teams trading runs until IUPUI took a 10-7 lead with three-straight points coming from a kills by Boatman and Hoffman, followed by a block from Hoffman.
 
The Jags continued the run scoring eight of the next ten points with kills from Waelbroeck and Scott while also getting blocks from Fisher and Hoffman. Three-straight attack errors gave the Jags a 20-10 lead.
 
Three consecutive miscues by IUPUI gave the Raiders life at 21-14 but that was quickly shutdown with a strong kill by Waelbroeck. Another kill from Waelbroeck and one from Fisher gave IUPUI set point and an error by Wright State gave the Jags the first set win, 25-16.
 
Wright State jumped out to an early lead in the second set and every time IUPUI tried to make a run to get back in the set, the Raiders had an answer, forcing the Jags to call a timeout down 13-8.  After two kills from Waelbroeck made the score 14-10, Wright State rattled off three-straight, helped by two IUPUI attack errors.
 
Waelbroeck did everything she could to keep the Jags in the second set with nine kills but the Jags would finish set two with nine total attack errors and a .111 hitting percentage as Wright State took set two 25-20 to tie the match at the break.
 
Set three saw Wright State come out on fire going on a 6-0 run after IUPUI scored the first point of the set. Natalie Santana had three kills and Hopkins had two kills during the run. IUPUI used kills from Waelbroeck, Fisher, Scott, Gibson and Hoffman to try to climb back in the set pulling within one at 12-11 and again at 13-12 but Wright State answered each time.
 
Again the Jags got within one after a Gibson kill but a kill by Hopkins and a block increased the lead to 17-14. 
 
The defense for the Jags buckled down and forced three errors and got a kill from Boatman to finally break through and take an 18-17 lead that forced a Wright State timeout.
 
Out of the timeout the Jags took over with an ace from Fisher and a block by Boatman and Gibson to take a three-point lead. IUPUI would keep the lead and get a kill from Waelbroeck to take set three 25-21.
 
IUPUI again found itself in an early hole in the fourth set, allowing the Raiders to jump out to an 8-4 lead. The Jags, getting kills from Boatman, Waelbroeck and Hoffman pulled within one at 11-10, tied the set after an attack error and a Fisher kill gave the Jags a 12-11 lead with a 7-2 run.
 
After Wright State took a 14-13 lead the Jags got two big kills from Fisher and Boatman to regain the lead at 15-14. The Raiders then went on a 9-1 run to take a 23-17 lead and take set four 25-19 to force a deciding set.
 
The fifth set was back and forth with Wright State taking the first two-point lead at 7-5 and taking an 8-6 lead in to the side change. The Jags responded with a 3-0 run to take a 9-8 lead after Waelbroeck and Hoffman combined for a block.
 
It was then Wright State's turn to use a 3-0 run of its own to grab an 11-9 lead.
 
From there the Jags went to the duo of Waelbroeck and Hoffman who combined for five of the last six points scored for IUPUI and give the Jags a 15-12 set five win.
 
IUPUI is back in action on Sunday (Oct. 21) against Northern Kentucky at 2 p.m. The match can be seen on ESPN3.