INDIANAPOLIS — IUP (2-2) closed out the opening weekend of volleyball action in stellar fashion Saturday afternoon by cruising to a sweep of host UIndy (25-17, 25-21, 25-17), a positive response after suffering a narrow five-set defeat against Tiffin (17-25, 25-22, 15-25, 25-13, 15-8) earlier in the day.
Match 1 — Tiffin
Jessica Neiman posted a match-high 14 kills in a tightly-contested match, just the second meeting ever against the Dragons, which kicked off the second day of action at the UIndy Invitational.
Nyla Birch and
Delaney Concannon each finished with 11 kills, while Concannon recorded a match-high 13 digs.
IUP led 2-1 after a convincing 25-15 victory in the third set, however, Tiffin quickly reversed momentum to force the deciding set and outlasted the Crimson Hawks with a 15-8 triumph in the final frame.
The Crimson Hawks hit a team-best .412 (17-3-34) in the first set, but went cold toward the end of the match to finish with an overall .175 (58-31-154) team hitting percentage.
Charlotte Potvin logged six kills, three block assists and three digs in a debut appearance.
Mikalah Kim put down four kills while
Audrey Torres recorded nine digs.
Tiffin finished hitting at .208 (44-17-130), led by Kenedi Goon's 12 kills.
Match 2 — UIndy
IUP started strong — a trend all weekend after it claimed the opening set in all four matches. The Crimson Hawks hit .400 overall in the finale with zero attack errors in the third set.
Concannon led with 11 kills and 13 digs,
Simay Memisoglu also tallied 11 kills, while Neiman and
Rylee Brown finished with eight apiece and Birch finished with six.
Olivia Heidel dished out 24 assists, as Kate Warpinski and
Ellie Rauch each added 10.
Lauren Valentic posted a team-high five block assists at the net.
In the first frame, the teams were even at 10-10 until Memisoglu's kill put IUP in front. That sparked a 6-0 run to force a timeout called by UIndy with the Crimson Hawks leading, 14-10. Brown's kill pushed the advantage to 16-10 and the lead swelled to as much as seven before IUP came out on top, 25-17. Concannon, Memisoglu and Brown each tallied four kills in the opening set.
IUP kept it going in the second, racing out to a 10-6 lead on back-to-back Memisoglu kills and another added by Birch. UIndy was forced into a timeout, trailing IUP 12-7 after the Crimson Hawks caught fire. IUP started out with a team hitting percentage of .591 (14-1-22), as the lead swelled to as much as eight at 17-9 and 22-14.
Four consecutive points from Neiman,
Bailey Flowerdew (ace), Concannon and Valentic ignited the momentum.
However, UIndy didn't go quietly and fought back to cut the deficit to just two at 22-20 after an eight-point swing. IUP called timeout and it paid off, as a service error stopped the run and the Crimson Hawks closed out the second set, 25-21.
In the final set, IUP produced a blistering .630 (17-0-27) team hitting percentage and grabbed the lead for good after kills by Birch and Memisoglu put the Crimson Hawks ahead 11-7.
UIndy was limited to a .152 team hitting percentage. Sophia Parlanti led the Greyhounds with 13 kills.
Up Next
IUP begins a 10-match homestand beginning with Tuesday night's non-conference tilt against West Liberty. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the home opener at the Kovalchick Convention & Athletic Complex (KCAC).
Following Tuesday's match, IUP will host the first of two consecutive tournament weekends at the KCAC with the IUP Invitational slated for Sept. 13-14, and the Crimson Hawk Classic presented by the Hilton Garden Inn on Sept. 20-21.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit
IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawks and @IUPVB.
