Lipscomb Invitational schedule
Sept. 4 - vs. Lipscomb - 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 4 - vs. Florida Atlantic - 6 p.m.
Sept. 5 - vs. Pepperdine - 1:30 p.m.
The Cardinals had four straight chances to close out the first set, but couldn't capitalize and fell 29-27. The Jaguars carried the momentum into a sweep victory.
"We had so many opportunities to close out that first set that we really should not have lost," Ball State coach Steve Shondell said. "We couldn't afford that set against IUPUI and it really hurt us."
After dropping the first set, Ball State jumped out to an 11-7 lead in set two. The defense struggled to hold on, however, and IUPUI finished off a 25-19 victory.
The Jaguars hit .282 through the first two sets.
"We didn't seem to have the defensive spark that we had last weekend, and IUPUI just played stronger than us on tonight," Shondell said.
The Jaguars dominated set three from start to finish, winning 25-18 and ending the Cardinals' perfect season.
Offensively, Ball State was led by seniors Alex Fuelling and Kelly Hopkins with 10 kills each.
Defensive specialist Kati Vasalakis carried the Cardinals on defense, recording 19 digs with a perfect reception percentage. Sophomore Jessica Lindsey finished with six block assists.
Ball State falls to 3-1 on the season, but remains tied with three teams atop the Mid-American Conference.
Ball State will gear up for the Lipscomb Invitational beginning Sept. 4. It will play three matches in two days, beginning with the host team.
"Since we are on the road and aren't going to have much of a chance to work anything out on the court, there is going to be a lot of talking to see how we can fix what we need before our next match," Shondell said. "How the team responds will be very important to see how the team will do moving forward after a hard loss."
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