OXFORD, Ohio – IUPUI ended on the wrong side of the scoreboard in the final match of the Bobcat Invitational, falling to Ohio, 3-1 on Saturday (Sept. 8).
 
The Jags, (2-8) were led by Maggie Gibson, who finished one dig shy of her fourth triple double of the season, tallying 10 kills, 16 assists and nine digs. Maddie Dean hit a team-best .412 with eight kills and Hannah Oehlberg chipped in eight kills as well.
 
Rachel Hickey led IUPUI with 15 digs and three Jags – Oehlberg, Rebecca Schlechte and Rhiannon Schuenemann – finished with eight digs. Schlechte finished tied with Gibson for the team lead with 16 assists.
 
After a kill by Kaitlyn Johnson in the first set made the score 6-3 in favor of Ohio, the Bobcats scored the next five points to take control of the set. IUPUI pulled within four scoring the next four, featuring kills by Johnson and Gibson. From there, another Ohio run put the Bobcats up nine. The closest IUPUI would get the rest of the way would be six before Ohio took set one 25-15.
 
The second set went back-and-forth with neither team leading by more than two until IUPUI took a 19-16 lead as part of an 8-0 run. After Ohio tied the set at 16, the Jags got a kill from Oehlberg and a block by the duo of Oehlberg and Dean. Two errors by Ohio and a service ace by Dean put the Jags up 21-16. The run kept going with another ace by Dean and a block from Hoffman and Oehlberg. A final error by Ohio put IUPUI up 24-16 and a kill by Hoffman gave the Jags a 25-17 set win.
 
After hitting .355 in the second set, IUPUI struggled the rest of the way, hitting .189 and .083 in the third and fourth sets respectively. The Jags got down early again in the third set, falling behind 10-5 and were not able to get any closer than three the rest of the way, dropping the third set 25-17.
 
The Jags again fell behind early but battle back to within one after a kill by Dean and an Ohio error. A kill by McKayla Wright tied the set at 11 and two errors by Ohio gave the Jags a 13-12 lead. Three-straight errors by IUPUI erased their lead and Ohio took a 16-13 lead as part of a 7-1 run that put the Bobcats up 19-14. IUPUI tried to get back in the set with a kill by Dean and a block by Gibson and Hoffman but the comeback was not meant to be and Ohio closed out the match with a 25-21 set win.
 
IUPUI will be back in action on Tuesday, Sept. 11 when the Jags travel north to Muncie for a clash with Ball State.