PEORIA, Ill. – The IUPUI volleyball team opened the 2023 season with a win against Eastern Michigan to begin the CEFCU Invitational at Bradley, 3-2. The marks Andrew Kroger first win as IUPUI's head coach.

I'm so proud of the fight and grit our team showed today," said Kroger. "It wasn't always pretty, but we competed hard on every point despite facing multiple match points against us. Several freshman played great in their collegiate debuts and our upperclassman brought composure and leadership that was crucial to our success." 
 
Eastern Michigan came out strong, winning the first two sets, taking a 2-0 lead. Attack errors proved costly in the first set with the Jags committing seven compared to EMU's two.
 
After losing the first two sets, IUPUI fought back with 14 kills in the third set to take set three, 25-22. Freshman Grace Purichia closed out the third set with a kill to seal the third set victory.
 
The fourth set was nothing short of exciting with Eastern Michigan and IUPUI exchanging the leads several times. The Eagles had set and match point at 24-22 when EMU committed an attack error and Emily Alan recorded a kill to tie the set at 24-24. After the Jags took a 25-24 lead, Morgan Ostrowski closed out the fourth set with an ace.
 
After a thrilling fourth set to tie the match at two sets each, Eastern Michigan took an early 4-1 lead in the fifth set. The Jags quickly recovered going on a 6-0 run with kills from Maia Long, Alan and Purichia. Brooke Phillips added a service ace to give the Jags a 7-4 lead. IUPUI closed out the fifth set at 15-12 due to a couple attack errors by the Eagles.
 
Freshman Long led the Jaguar attack with 14 kills followed by Ostrowski with 12 and Ava Harris with 11. Purichia added a team-high 39 assists and 14 digs while Phillips recorded three service aces and 14 digs. Junior Addie Evans collected 12 digs.
 
IUPUI starts the season 1-0 with coach Kroger earning his first win with the Jags. IUPUI will now face SIUE and Bradley tomorrow at 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM.