Jags Volleyball Gains First Win Against Purdue Fort Wayne

The IUPUI volleyball team notched their first victory of the 2018-19 season last night with a 3-0 win over the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons. IUPUI took the victory with victories of 26-24, 28-26, and 25-17. The Jaguars were previously 0-3 after losing all three games in the Louisville Cardinal Classic last weekend.

The first set was narrow the entire way through. Junior McKayla Wright led the way for the Jags early, recording five kills in the first set. With the score tied at 24, Senior Maggie Gibson recorded a monster kill followed by the game-winner the next point by Senior Elizabeth Scott.

Gibson displayed her clutch factor again in the second set. With momentum hanging in the balance during a deadlock at 13, Gibson powered home a kill that shifted the momentum back towards IUPUI. Purdue Fort Wayne surged back soon after, and the Jaguars would need more leadership from Gibson. She delivered. She scored two crucial kills, once while trailing 22-24, the other when trailing 24-25. Junior Haley Hoffman took over from there, recording a block and kill back to back. Again, it was Scott who finished the game with a kill, giving the Jaguars a 28-26 lead.

“I’ve taken it upon myself to be a leader,” Gibson said. “It’s been a different experience for me, coming in as a transfer and finding a way to lead on a team I’ve only been on for two years, but it’s been a lot of fun. I love this team and they make it easy.”

Demoralized by close losses in the first two sets, the Mastodons came out flat. IUPUI jumped out to a 13-3 lead and never looked back. After staving off a comeback attempt, the Jaguars won the final set 25-17 to end the evening victorious for the first time this season.

“It’s always tough to get over the hump of the first win,” said Head Coach Steve Payne. “Now we’ve got it. We have something to build on now. We have some success and we’ll go from here.”

Gibson lead the Jaguars in kills with 13, followed by Scott with nine and Wright with 7. Hoffman and Scott both finished with four blocks on the evening. Sophomore Rebecca Schlechte lead the team in assists with 24 while freshman Rachel Hickey lead the way in digs with 22.

Up next, the Jaguars host the Hampton Inn Invitational this weekend. Play begins with Western Michigan on Friday, Aug. 31, followed by games against SIU-Edwardsville and Northern Arizona on Saturday, Aug. 1.