Photo Gallery I Steve Payne Postgame

INDIANAPOLIS - Senior right side Kori Waelbroeck put down a career-high 28 kills, including three in the fifth set, as the Jaguars outlasted Wright State, 3-2, in both teams' Horizon League openers on Friday night (Sept. 22). The Evansville-native committed just two errors in 58 attempts, finishing the match hitting .448 to fuel a 70-kill, .247 hitting night for the Jaguars. 

Wright State (6-8, 0-1 Horizon) hit .189 as a team and had just 56 kills overall. 

"I just felt like I was a lot smarter with my shot selection and Maggie was just giving really great sets all night, pushing all the way out to the pin, and that helped a lot," Waelbroeck said. "Honestly, I had no idea. I was so focused on the game and keeping my teammates in it and I had no idea how many kills I had."

By night's end, everyone in the building knew No. 7 had piled up a near school record number of kills.

"Part of it is that Maggie was really giving her the ball well," Head Coach Steve Payne said. "We had four days of practice and looked good in practice, so it just carried over to the game. Kori was adjusting well to every set and taking good high swings and aggressive swings."

Junior Maggie Gibson delivered 58 assists and a team-high 16 digs while senior Jessica Helms also collected 16 digs from her libero spot. 

IUPUI took the initial momentum swing in the decisive fifth set, building a 5-2 lead to prompt an early WSU timeout. The lead grew to 9-4 thanks to a Haley Hoffman kill on a broken play after the Raiders had called their second timeout. WSU crept within 9-7 but a Gibson-Hoffman block gave the Jags a sideout and #McKayla Wright# followed with back-to-back kills before Hoffman put down one of her own. From there, the win was nearly inevitable as the Jags closed the set with a 15-11 win. 

Wright had 15 kills for the Jaguars and junior Elizabeth Scott took advantage of a starting nod by putting down 12 kills and hitting .294 overall. Megan Hopkins paced a balanced WSU attack with 14 kills on 27 attempts and Celia Powers and Abby Barcus added 10 apiece. 

The first set went the way of the Jaguars as Waelbroeck came out firing and never let up. IUPUI built a quick 4-0 lead on kills from Waelbroeck and Wright and never relinquished the advantage. The lead grew to 10-3 on an Abby Boatman kill and the Jags continued to maintain the lead, albeit by a slim margin late. Wright State closed within one at 21-20 before IUPUI closed up the set 25-21. 

The second set turned in favor of Wright State early as the Raiders built a 10-6 lead in the early stages. IUPUI took a brief lead at 15-14 on a Scott kill, but the Raiders countered with five straight points to make it 19-15. After a timeout, the Jags got a badly needed sideout and followed with back-to-back points, prompting a Wright State timeout. IUPUI went in front 21-20 on a Scott service ace, but she was unable to replicate the effort, serving her next ball long. Wright State was on the cusp of the win at 24-22, but IUPUI's Wright fended off set point with a key kill. However, the Raiders sealed the deal with a Hopkins kill to tie the match.

The third started ominously as the Raiders built a 7-3 lead, silencing a robust Jaguars' crowd. However, once IUPUI gained momentum, it never slowed in the third. Freshman Rhiannon Schuenemann served up a string of points to get the Jags within one and Boatman put the Jags ahead with back-to-back kills. Senior Jessica Helms followed with an ace and a WSU attack error gave the Jags a 15-12 lead. The Jags weren't content just trading sideouts though and continued to pepper the Raiders, hitting .262 for the set as Waelbroeck picked apart the defense in a 25-18 win. 

The fourth set was Wright State's most emphatic win of the night as they hit .281 and held IUPUI to just .179 to knot the match at 2-2. The Raiders led from the opening serve and fended off a Jaguars' run that cut the lead to one on multiple occasions. After the Jags closed within one at 19-18, WSU scored six of the set's final seven points to win 25-19. 

IUPUI improved to 4-2 on the year in five-set matches.

"We do not enjoy (playing five). It sure gives the crowd something to watch. I think we're still working through some kinks in terms of playing at a high level all the time. We're hoping through conference, we can get some things figured out and hopefully win a match in three (sets)," Waelbroeck said. 

IUPUI will continue the two-game homestand on Sunday (Sept. 24) when the Jaguars host Northern Kentucky at 2:00 p.m. inside the Jungle. Fans wearing their favorite team's jersey will receive a discounted ticket at the door. In addition, the Jaguars will stick around following the match to sign limited edition posters for any youth in attendance.