INDIANAPOLIS – IUPUI was led by
Millai Madison's eight kills but the Jags lost in the three sets (25-21, 25-18, 25-14) to Purdue Fort Wayne in the home opener on Monday (Feb. 8).
Madison was the top offensive performer for IUPUI hitting .333, committing just two errors.
Allie Pogue was second on the team with six kills and
Emily Alan finished with four.
Darragh Dixon handed out 20 assists for the Jags.
On defense, IUPUI (0-5) finished with 28 digs, led by Dixon, who finished with seven.
Rhiannon Schuenemann tallied six digs. At the net, Alan finished with three blocks and both Madison and
Corrissa Remter each had two.
The Jags finished with five service aces, led by two from Pogue and limited their errors at the service line with only five service errors. IUPUI had a hard time on the other end of the service game, allowing Purdue Fort Wayne to tally 11 aces.
Early in the first set, Purdue Fort Wayne (3-2) took a 13-9 lead but kills by Madison and Pogue helped the Jags get back within one. The Jags continued to try to edge their way back in to the set but Purdue Fort Wayne had an answer for every IUPUI run. After a service error by Purdue Fort Wayne made the score 22-21, the Mastodons scored three-straight points to end the set.
IUPUI responded early in the second set with a 4-0 run that featured a block by Alan and Madison and an ace from Schuenemann. An ace by Pogue and kill from Dixon pushed the lead to 9-3 but after taking a 10-4 lead, Purdue Fort Wayne went on a 9-0 run to go up 13-10 and took a 16-11 lead after
Maddie Haines had an attack blocked. The Jags would cut the deficit to two twice but a 5-0 run ended the set in favor of Purdue Fort Wayne.
The Jags again started the set with a four-point run taking advantage of multiple Mastodon errors, but once again IUPUI could not stop Purdue Fort Wayne from going on another run. A 5-0 run followed by a 6-0 run flipped the score from 7-4 in favor of IUPUI to a 16-9 Purdue Fort Wayne lead. Three-straight blocks from the Mastodons extinguished any chance of a comeback for IUPUI.
IUPUI and Purdue Fort Wayne will face off again on Tuesday (Feb. 9) at 6 p.m. in the Jungle.
