SOUTH BEND, Ind. – In their first action in a week, IU South Bend didn't need much time to shake off any rust, as the Titans kept their perfect conference record intact with a four-set victory over Cardinal Stritch on Tuesday night. The Titans improved to 9-3 overall and 5-0 in league play with a 25-12, 25-18, 18-25, 25-21 win over the Wolves.
Setter McKenzie Powell led the IUSB attack, collecting 50 assists on the night to go with 13 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. The senior also recorded just the second 50-assist performance in a four-set match in program history.
The Titans opened up a 13-3 lead to start the opening set, scoring an 11-1 run to cruise through the first game. Hannah Marchand collected seven kills in the set, including two in IU South Bend's 4-1 rally that closed out the set.
Cardinal Stritch (7-4, 4-2 CCAC) took an early 6-4 lead in game two, but kills from Felisha Campanello and Abby Seeger evened the score and started a five-point rally, giving the Titans a 9-6 advantage. Marchand stretched the lead with an ace at 11-7, and three straight kills from Julie Brown and Powell made it a 15-10 score. IUSB were in control the rest of the way, as Amber Jacob gave the Titans set point with a kill at 24-18, and an attacking error from the Wolves finished the game.
After jumping out to an 8-3 advantage in the third set, Cardinal Stritch lost the lead when the Titans scored six straight, 9-8. The Wolves responded, scoring 11 of the next 13 to build a 19-11 lead. IUSB were unable to regain the momentum throughout the set, scoring just three kills the rest of the way.
IU South Bend held a narrow lead throughout most of the fourth set, but Cardinal Stritch used a three-point rally late in the game to close the gap, 22-21. Two straight kills from Jacobs set up match point for the Titans, who closed out the night on an attacking error from the Wolves.
Marchand finished with a match-high 17 kills, while Brown collected 15 kills with a .467 attacking percentage. Freshman libero Suriya Van der Oord posted 20 digs, as well as four aces on the night, while Jacobs picked up her third double-double of the season, with 11 kills and 18 digs.
IU South Bend will now prepare for next Tuesday night, when they host Trinity International. First serve with the Trojans in a CCAC matchup is set for 7:00 p.m.
