Mastodons Rally in Thriller; Re-Gain First Place in League

Saturday, November 6

Fort Wayne, Ind.

7:00 PM

Purdue Fort Wayne

19-9, 13-3Summit

IUPUI

7-22, 6-11Summit

IUPUI

IPFW

Maya Schlindwein's 12 kills and five service aces helped propel the Mastodons to a thrilling five-set win over IUPUI

Mastodons Rally in Thriller; Re-Gain First Place in League

11/6/2010 9:52:54 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY

Fort Wayne, IN - IPFW rallied twice against in-state rival IUPUI on Saturday evening, winning the final two sets to capture a 3-2 victory on senior night, (21-25, 25-18, 16-25, 25-19, 18-16), and pushing the Mastodons into sole possession of first place in The Summit League with two games remaining on the 2010 slate.

In their final matches in the Hilliard Gates Sports Center, the team's three seniors each recorded double-figure kills, led by 14 from Stephanie Lamberti, 12 by Maya Schlindwein, and 11 from Taryn Parker. Freshman Jade Cunningham added nine, with Alli Hook chipping in three kills.

Hook had a season-high-tying eight blocks in the win, with Parker adding seven, as the Mastodons had 16 in the match, the most for the squad since they blocked 23 in Indianapolis against the Jaguars on October 18, 2008. Schlindwein had a career-high five service aces for IPFW, tied for the seventh most in a five-set match in school history, with Tessa McGill leading four 'Dons in double figure digs with 21, giving her 517 for the season, the third most in a year in program history, and most ever by an IPFW sophomore.

Megan Steenhuysen added 15 digs and 45 assists for her 15th double-double of the season, with Schlindwein adding 11 digs for her ninth double-double of the year. Jen Milligan picked up a dozen Jaguar kill attempts.

With the win, and the subsequent South Dakota State four-set victory over North Dakota State, the Mastodons, now 19-9 on the year and 13-3 in league play, claim sole possession of first place in the Summit League, a game ahead of North Dakota State. The team is also just one victory away from clinching the regular season league crown with two games remaining on the regular season schedule.

In the opening set of the evening's thriller, IUPUI (7-22, 6-11 Summit League) used a 8-0 run to turn an 8-5 IPFW lead into a 13-8 Jaguar advantage, and another run, this one 4-0, put the visitors ahead by ten at 21-11. The Mastodons would not back down, and behind the serving of Schlindwein, scored six consecutive points to close the gap to four at 23-18. The double-digit margin was too much to overcome, however, as the Jaguars took the opener 25-21.

The second set was a back-and-forth battle that saw eight ties, and three lead changes, with IPFW leading 17-16 after a kill by IUPUI's Brittany Anglemeyer. The Mastodons, again behind the serving of Schlindwein, scored six straight points to lead 23-16, and cruised to a 25-18 second-set score, evening the count heading into the intermission.

The Jaguars jumped ahead early in the third set, leading 9-7, before the visitors rattled off runs of 4-0 and 6-0 to easily take the third set 25-16, and putting the Mastodons on the verge of elimination in the contest.

IPFW, needing a win in the fourth set, jumped ahead early in the frame, leading 5-1 and forcing the Jaguars into a timeout. The hosts would not give up the lead for the remainder of the set, as IUPUI got to within as few as two at 13-11 before four straight Mastodon points put the set out of reach, sending the match into a deciding fifth set.

In each of the first four sets, the team that occupied the south-end bench of the gymnasium had won, and when given the chance to decide the bench to start, IUPUI chose to start on the south side bench, and proceeded to score the first two points, and led 8-6 when the teams changed sides in the middle of the frame.

The Jaguars got the point directly following the switch on a Kalyse Reimbold service ace, and led by as many as four at 13-9 before the Mastodons found the magic of the south-end bench, scoring the next four points to take a 14-13 lead, serving for match point. The ensuing serve went into the net, and the teams battled back-and-forth, tying the score at 14, 15, and 16.

A combo block from Schlindwein and Parker pushed IPFW ahead by one at 17-16 before a rally ensued with the 'Dons needing just one score to end the match. An IUPUI tip attempt by Reimbold was met by the top of the head from a diving Parker, before Steenhuysen took advantage of the carom and put the ball down on the opposing side of the net, giving IPFW the thrilling win, and giving Parker the unusual assist.

The Mastodons hit just .150 for the match (50 kills, 26 errors, 160 attempts), compared to IUPUI's .175 (60-30-171). IPFW led the two teams in aces 8-4, and in digs 72-71, but the biggest margin came in blocks, where the 'Dons led 16-9.

Fort Wayne native Moriah Fair tied with Reimbold with a match-high 18 kills, with Anglemeyer chipping in a dozen kills for IUPUI.

The Mastodons travel to Kansas City, Missouri on November 11, with first-serve for the match slated for 8:00 PM EST.

~Dons~