WVB: Dons Win Summit League Home Opener

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - The IPFW women's volleyball team picked up their first Summit League win of the season by defeating the IUPUI Jaguars 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-21). The Mastodons are now 11-3 overall with a 1-1 mark in the Summit League standings.
 
Megan Steenhuysen and Kendall Wienkes each recorded a double-double against the Jaguars on Tuesday night, helping IPFW win their second straight contest. Steenhuysen recorded a season-high 57 assists on the night to go along with 10 digs. Wienkes continued to play well for IPFW as she ended the night with 14 digs and 13 kills.
 
Emily Spencer just missed out on a double-double with 14 kills and nine digs. The team's dig leader was once again Tessa McGill who tallied 29. Jen Milligan marked the fourth Mastodon to reach double digits in the dig category as she also chipped in with 10.
 
The trio of Hailie Ripley , Jessie Manwaring and Wienkes controlled the net against IUPUI. Each player had five blocks against the Jaguars. Manwaring added 10 kills and fellow senior Haley Emenhiser set a new season-high kill total with 13.
 
IUPUI (8-6, 2-1 SL) had two student-athletes record a double digit kill total as Kelsey Hoefer tallied 15 and Kaitlyn Hickey ended with 13. Bethany Fogler played well with eight kills and six blocks, and Alexis Meeks impacted the match with 32 assists.
 
The first set was close from the start. There were four lead changes and the game was tied 10 times. The turning point in the set came after an IUPUI timeout. The 'Dons held a 15-13 advantage but the timeout killed the momentum of the set. The Jaguars scored four straight points out of the break and pushed their lead to 21-16 before claiming the first set 25-21.
 
The second set was much different as the Mastodons got out to a quick 7-3 start. The lead would increase to 20-10, but an IUPUI run would make things interesting at 23-19. IPFW didn't panic as they held on for the 25-19 win to tie the match 1-1.
 
The third set allowed IPFW to take a 2-1 lead as they defeated IUPUI 25-19. The game was tied 16-16 when the Mastodons made their push to extend the lead to 22-16. Haley Emenhiser was highly involved in the run as she recorded four kills during that span. An IUPUI timeout briefly stopped the momentum, but IPFW took the set off a kill from Emily Spencer .
 
The final set was close at first, but IPFW would not be denied of their first Summit league win as the 'Dons picked up the pace to grab a 10-5 lead. They would hold that margin throughout the contest as the scoreboard went from 15-10 and 20-15 before IPFW finally put IUPUI away 25-21. Emily Spencer and Kendall Wienkes each helped put the Jaguars away capping off excellent nights from each player.
 
IPFW will hit the road again this weekend with two Summit League contests. The team will face South Dakota on Friday, Sept. 21 and end the trip with a match against UMKC on Sunday, Sept. 23.