Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

FINDLAY, Ohio – The No. 8 University of Indianapolis volleyball team split its first two matches of the Findlay Fall Classic on Friday afternoon against a pair of 2011 Elite Eight teams with a heart-breaking five-set loss to Wheeling Jesuit, 3-2 (25-19, 25-21, 12-25, 22-25, 15-13), in the afternoon, followed by a sweep (25-21, 25-23, 25-18) of Hillsdale in the evening.

UIndy concludes the tournament with two more important in-region matches against Wayne State at 4 p.m. and the host Oilers at 6:30 p.m.

"I'm happy for the way this team bounced back tonight against Hillsdale after the tough loss in the afternoon," head coach Jody Rogers said. "Most teams would still be feeling sorry for themselves, but we were able to regain our focus and played an all-around complete match."

In the evening, senior Kristina Kerrigan hit .486 with 20 kills and 10 digs, while freshman Hailey Brown added .400 attacking with 14 kills and 12 digs. Junior Brittany Anglemyer provided nine kills on .353 attacking out of the middle as setter Meghan Binkerd finished with 41 assists directing an offense that hit a season-high .383. Libero Amy Oldenburg paced the back row with 18 digs for the Greyhounds (4-2).

"I liked the way Meghan was able to spread the ball around against Hillsdale," Rogers said. "It makes everyone more effectiive when she's keeping the defense guessing about where the set is going."

The Chargers (0-6) were led by Lauren Grover with 13 kills as they hit .210 with 41 kills to 52 kills for the Greyhounds.

A kill by Brown and ace from Kim Trojan put UIndy up five, 8-3, to start the opening set, but Hillsdale slowly closed to within one, 15-14. Kerrigan had kills on three of the next four points as the Hounds pushed the lead back to five, 20-15, and closed it out with an Anglemyer kill, 25-21. UIndy hit .343 with 17 kills to open the match.

Hillsdale started fast with a 9-5 lead of its own in the second set, but UIndy came back with a 4-0 run and eventually took the lead, 14-13, after kills by Kourtney Crawford and Brown. The Chargers responded and built a late lead, 19-17, until a 7-2 burst by UIndy gave it set point, 24-21. A pair of errors closed the margin, but then Crawford powered a kill off the block on the right side to end the set, 25-23. UIndy added 18 more kills and hit .361 in the set, while limiting HC to 13 kills and .205 attacking.

The score was tied after 14 points, but UIndy slowly began to pull away with a 13-6 run to lead by seven, 20-13, after kills by Anglemyer and Kerrigan. The Chargers couldn't mount another rally and Crawford closed out the match with her sixth kill as UIndy ended a three-match losing streak to the defending Midwest Region champions.

MATCH ONE RECAP

For the second time this season, the No. 8 UIndy volleyball team tried to fight back from a two-set deficit, but couldn't complete the comeback against Wheeling Jesuit, 3-2 (25-19, 25-21, 12-25, 22-25, 15-13), on Friday afternoon at Croy Gymnasium.

The Cardinals (5-0) struggled trying to close out the Greyhounds (3-2) in sets three and four, but were finally able to jump on them with a 5-1 lead to start the fifth frame. UIndy came back with five points in a row to take the lead, 6-5, after freshman Hailey Brown sent a ball cross court off the face of the WJU defender. The Cardinals stole momentum right back with two points in a row and UIndy would never lead again.

The Greyhounds were able to consistently keep the set tied until WJU pulled out to a two-point lead, 12-10. A kill by Kristina Kerrigan and error by Jenna Pew evened the match at 12, but the Cardinals were able to score the next two for match point.

Kerrigan was able to save one with a kill, but Pew converted on the next to end the match.

Kerrigan led all players with 24 kills and added 16 digs, while Arielle Knafel chipped in 12 kills and 13 digs. Senior libero Amy Oldenburg notched 21 digs and setter Meghan Binkerd had her first doube-double of 2012 with 47 assists, 12 digs, four blocks and three kills. At the net, Julia Watkins tallied six blocks, followed by Brittany Anglemyer with four.

"I'm proud of the way my team was able to once again fight back from a two-set deficit and force the match into a fifth. We've got a lot of fighters on this team that won't go down quietly," head coach Jody Rogers said. "The problem is we need to play with the same intensity and focus to start the match so we don't put ourselves in a situation where we have to come from behind."

The Greyhounds hit .161 as a team with 55 kills and 27 errors, while the Cardinals hit .136 with 59 kills and 33 errors. Wheeling Jesuit, a Elite Eight team from 2011, was led by Pew with 19 kills, 20 assists, nine blocks and six digs, while Abby Wietrzykowski added 16 kills and three aces. Madison Strall dished 29 assists with 15 digs and Makenzie Ripley led all players with 23 digs.

The Greyhounds started well by taking a 13-10 lead in the opening set when Wheeling Jesuit called timeout. The stoppage worked for the Cardinals as they took control with a 7-1 run, 17-14. UIndy mounted a mini-challenge by closing within one, 18-17, but a 7-2 response by Wheeling Jesuit won the set, 25-19.

UIndy had another fast start with a 9-5 lead to open the second set when WJU used its first timeout. The Cardinals regrouped with a 9-3 run to take a lead, 14-12, they would not relinquish. Brown's late kill helped UIndy come back to tie, 21-21, but then Wheeling Jesuit answered with a kill and a pair of aces to win, 25-21.

It was all Greyhounds in the third set as two timeounts in the first 14 points couldn't stop them from taking an eight-point lead, 11-3. UIndy continued to pull away and closed it out, 25-12, on a bad set. UIndy held Wheeling Jesuit to -.057 attacking with only seven kills, while hitting a match-high .280.

UIndy blitzed Wheeling Jesuit for a 9-1 lead to start the fourth set, but the Cardinals hung around to close within two, 22-20. Kerrigan had a pair of kills and Binkerd and Watkins closed the block on set point to force the fifth frame, 25-22. UIndy held Wheeling Jesuit to .026 hitting with 10 kills and nine errors in the fourth set.