CLEVELAND, Ohio - The IUPUI volleyball team got a season-high 21 kills from rookie Briana Brown and 13 from Atlantis Clendenin, but fell in a five-set thriller at Cleveland State on Tuesday night (Sept. 28), 25-18, 25-23, 24-26, 22-25, 15-8. IUPUI showed some grit, taking back-to-back sets after dropping the first two sets, but ultimately succumbed in the decisive fifth frame. 

Offensively, IUPUI (2-13, 0-4 HL) hit .188 against the Vikings, but saw the Vikings (5-9, 3-0 HL) hit .243 for the match and put down nine of their 11 swings in the final set.

"I'm proud of how we battled back and executed in sets three and four," head coach Lindsey Froehlich said. "That's tough to do on the road in a packed house. The competitiveness is there. 

"Moving forward, we will need to be more consistent behind the service line and continue to minimize our errors."

IUPUI gifted 15 points to the Vikings over the course of the evening in the form of service errors, but also rode some hot serving stretches to put the hosts on its heels. 

The Jaguars dropped the opener 25-18, but came out firing in set two with the initial three points. Things stayed tight throughout and IUPUI took a 15-14 lead on a Brown kill. Things continued to go back-and-forth and the Jags had a 22-21 lead after Rhiannon Schuenemann dialed up an ace. However, CSU closed out the set behind Peyton Bloomer as she put home three kills late to fuel a 25-23 win. 

In the third, IUPUI roared in front by leads of 5-1, 12-8 and later 20-10 with Darragh Dixon on the service line. However, getting to the finish line proved to be cumbersome as Cleveland State chipped away, ultimately knotting the score at 24 all. However, IUPUI returned fire, getting a key kill from Corrissa Remter to force set point before Schuenemann ended it with an ace. 

In the fourth, the Vikings surged out to a 4-1 lead and maintained the lead, crafting a 17-12 advantage. However, with Brown on the service line, IUPUI rattled off six straight points, forcing CSU to call two timeouts to try and stop the run. Back-to-back kills from Clendenin helped IUPUI continue the momentum and Remter helped knot the match with two late kills in the 25-22 win. 

After the two teams played the first eight points of the fifth set evenly, CSU scored four straight, including a pair of London Portis kills to build an 8-4 lead. IUPUI got back within three after a Brooke Phillips ace, but after a timeout, Phillips committed a service error to give CSU a side out. The Vikings never looked back and hit .818 in the fifth set for the 15-8 win. 

Bloomer led CSU with 16 kills Portis had 14. Addie Evans led the IUPUI defense with 22 digs and Schuenemann had 12 digs and four aces. Phillips delivered 45 assists and also had 12 digs from her setter spot. Remter had nine kills and three blocks. Emily Alan finished with eight kills and six blocks, including a solo. 

IUPUI will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 2 when the Jaguars take on Robert Morris at 4:00 p.m. in Moon Township, Pa.