TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The IUPUI volleyball team got 17 kills from freshman
Briana Brown, but fell short to Austin Peay on day two of the Sycamore Invitational on Friday (Sept. 10). The Jaguars played APSU tight throughout, but ultimately fell to the Govs, 3-1 (25-13, 26-24, 23-25, 19-25).
Brown had 17 kills and 17 digs and
Emily Alan had nine kills and hit .211 on the day. Tegan Seyring had a team-high 13 kills for Austin Peay (5-3) and the setting duo of Kelsey Mead and Caroline Waite had 20 and 19 assists, respectively.
After falling in a forgettable first set by a 25-13 score, the IUPUI offense came to life in the second set. The Jaguars surged out to an 11-7 lead behind some early attacks from
Maddie Haines and continued to maintain the advantage. Austin Peay scored four points in succession to tie the score at 16 all before committing a service error to deliver the lead back to the Jags. After a sideout, IUPUI fired back with another Haines kill and proceeded to tack on the game's next three points to build a 21-17 lead. However, IUPUI was unable to get to the finish line as three straight attacking errors helped the Govs pull even. Head coach
Lindsey Froehlich tried to quiet Austin Peay with two different timeouts, but was unable to stem the rally. A
Millai Madison kill gave IUPUI a 23-22 lead, but Austin Peay retaliated with the next two points. Brown put home a kill to tie the score at 24 all before Austin Peay notched the final two points of the set.
The third set saw IUPUI share the wealth offensively as Haines, Madison, Alan and Brown all put down three kills. The Jaguars built a 15-9 lead, largely through the service of Brown and
Rhiannon Schuenemann. The Govs snuck within a point at 21-20 before Madison came up with a pivotal kill. Austin Peay got back within a point at 24-23, but ultimately committed an error to give the Jags the final point.
Brown came out hot in the fourth set, putting home three early kills as IUPUI took an early 6-4 lead. The lead remained in IUPUI's favor until Austin Peay tallied four straight points to nab a 15-14 advantage. The Jags hung close until Austin Peay pulled away late for a 25-19 win.
Haines closed with eight kills and Madison had seven.
Brooke Phillips finished with 38 assists and Schuenemann had a game-high 25 digs.
IUPUI will cap the three-game tournament against Western Michigan on Saturday (Sept. 11) at 10:00 a.m..
