FORT MYERS, Fla. - The IUPUI volleyball team closed a busy opening weekend of the season on Saturday (Aug. 26), beginning with a huge come-from-behind effort against Florida International in the early afternoon. The Jaguars capped the three-game Florida Gulf Coast Hilton Garden Inn Invitational with a 3-0 loss to host FGCU at Alico Arena. Senior Kori Waelbroeck was named to the All-Tournament Team after capping the tournament with 55 kills in three matches. 

"It was great to come down here and get two wins under our belt," Waelbroeck said. "It was a tough loss to FGCU, but we learned a lot from how we responded being down against a strong team. We had some great competition down here and I'm excited to get back in the gym and work on everything we identified that needs fixing from this weekend."

IUPUI (2-1) fell into a deep hole against FIU after being blasted in the opening set 25-13, followed by a disappointing 25-22 loss in the second. However, the Jaguars solved the FIU defense in the third, hitting a collective .361, largely behind McKayla Wright early in the set. FIU pulled even at 15 all before Waelbroeck spun off five straight points at the service line, capped by an ace. Junior setter Maggie Gibson had a couple late kills to seal the third set. 

Like the third, set four was tight throughout, including sitting tied at 20 all after Taija Thomas dialed up an ace for FIU. However, the Jags countered with back-to-back Abby Boatman kills after Waelbroeck had earned a side out, giving the Jaguars a 23-20 advantage. After a timeout, FIU stopped momentum with a kill, but Waelbroeck and Boatman forced a fifth with consecutive kills to end the fourth, 25-21. 

The fifth saw FIU leading 9-7 just past the midpoint before the Jags rattled off six straight points with Gibson on the service line. Haley Hoffman and Waelbroeck ignited the run with early kills before the Jaguars later benefited from some sloppy FIU swings. The Jags yielded a point before getting regrouping for a 15-10 fifth-set win. The last time IUPUI rallied from a two-set deficit was last season when the Jaguars did so against Fort Wayne inside the Jungle. 

Waelbroeck finished with 19 kills while hitting .320 and Wright had 13 kills, hitting .324. IUPUI finished the match at .257 as Gibson delivered 51 assists. Defensively, senior Jessica Helms notched a career-high 36 of the team's 90 digs in the five setter. Boatman and Gibson had a team-high nine blocks each. 

"It was good to see how we dealt with adversity, being down zero sets to two. The girls fought hard to come back for the win," IUPUI Head Coach Steve Payne said. "Once again, our blocking helped us tremendously throughout the match, as did the defensive digging of Jess Helms with 36 digs."

In the nightcap, host FGCU, coached by Payne's former assistant Matt Botsford, dispatched the Jags in straight sets, 25-21, 25-23, 25-13. 

The first set was nip-and-tuck as the Jaguars were never fully able to get over the hump. IUPUI pulled even at 17 all, thanks in part to a couple FGCU (3-0) miscues. However, the hosts rattled off back-to-back points and never relinquished the lead. The second set was much of the same, even after the Jags surged out to an early 8-3 advantage. Wright and Waelbroeck were the early story, combining on four early kills to give the Jags the early lead. After FGCU tied the set at 9-9, IUPUI tallied four straight points to surge back in front. This time, Botsford's squad retaliated with a similar surge to take a 15-14 lead. The teams swapped points for much of the remainder of the set, up until it was tied at 23 all. However, the savvy Eagles closed the set with the final two points to take an all important 2-0 lead. 

Coming off two gut wrenching sets, the Jags offered little resistance in the third after it was tied 5-5 early. The hosts hit .410 in the third and limited the Jaguars to just .071 while coasting to a 25-13 finale. 

Waelbroeck had 14 of the team's 33 kills while Wright had seven. Defensively, Helms had 13 digs and freshman Rhiannon Schuenemann had 10. FGCU's Amanda Carroll had 23 kills and hit .512 for the match, making just two errors in 41 attempts. 

"We played FGCU very tough for the first two sets with very good passing. We were tight the whole way and just made a few small mistakes that hopefully we can correct here in the future," Payne said. "Kori had a good offensive weekend to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team."

IUPUI will return to Indianapolis and then trek north to face Fort Wayne on Tuesday night (Aug. 29). From there, the Jaguars will to host the annual Hampton Inn Invitational inside the Jungle, beginning on Friday (Sept. 1). The Jaguars will take on Wichita State on Friday night, followed by matches with Miami (Ohio) and Marquette on Saturday.