Box score
ROMEOVILLE, Ill.- The ninth-ranked University of Indianapolis volleyball team achieved a major season goal Sunday by capturing the 2009 Great Lakes Valley Conference title. Sunday’s final featured the league’s top two seeds, with the second-seeded Greyhounds coming out on top of the host Lewis Flyers in four sets, 22-25, 25-14, 25-21, and 25-16.
The win earned UIndy a number of distinctions. It secured the Greyhounds’ second GLVC title and first since 2003, upped the program-record season win total to 35, avenged the Hounds’ only loss of the season, and also snapped the Flyers 41 match home winning streak.
Lewis (30-4) used a sizeable run late in the first to help take the opener. With the score 17-14 Flyers, the home team rolled off five straight to up the lead to eight. Not to be outdone, the Hounds responded with six unanswered points to make it 22-20, but Lewis allowed just two more from that point to go on to the 25-22 win.
Indianapolis statistically dominated the second set, forcing 11 Lewis attack errors, including five on blocks alone. The Hounds out-hit their opponents 357 to -.051 in the frame to cruise to the 25-14 victory.
Just as in the second set, UIndy led wire-to-wire in the third, starting with a 4-0 advantage to start the frame. The lead would grow to as much as eight at 19-11 and 21-13 before Lewis whittled it to its 25-21 conclusion.
The Greyhound kept the pressure on in the fourth, as the Hounds again scored the set’s first points and again did not allow the Flyers to catch them.
Kristina Kerrigan (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central), the 2009 GLVC Freshman of the Year, paced the team with 12 kills and 35 attack attempts. UIndy middles
Hannah Kelzer (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South) and
Courtney Anglemyer (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Memorial) combined to hit .364 with 20 kills and 11 total blocks.
Lyndsay Callahan (Chicago, Ill./Marist) had 10 kills and nine digs,
Cheneta Morrison (Fort Wayne, Ind./Ft. Wayne Snider) amassed 42 assists and nine digs, and
Kyleigh Turner (Muncie, Ind./Cowan) went for 14 digs.
The 2009 NCAA D-II Volleyball Tournament bracket will be announced at approximately 8 p.m. Eastern time tonight. The tournament field will consist of 64 teams, eight from each of the nation’s eight regions. The Hounds (35-1) were ranked second only to Lewis in the Midwest Regional rankings heading into this week. Check back later for updates.
Sunday's championship will be rebroadcast by HomeTown Sports Indiana on Monday at 7 p.m. EST. The contest will also be availabe on demand for Comcast and Brighthouse subscribers and will replay throughout the week. The match can be found on channel 81 Comcast and Brighthouse in over 450,000 homes in Indiana.
For more information on HomeTown Sports and if the contest is available in your viewing area, please visit the HomeTown Sports website at http://hometownsportsindiana.blogspot.com/2009/03/hometown-sports-indiana-coming-in-april.html