Box Score
ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – In a rematch of last year's GLVC Tournament semifinal, UIndy defeated Rockhurst 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-12, 25-20), advancing to the GLVC Tournament Championship match at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill.
Last season, the Hawks upset the Greyhounds in the GLVC Tournament semifinals, 3-1. Junior setter
Meghan Binkerd remembers the loss, and said a measure of revenge wasn't lost on the team.
"I think we kind of overlooked them last year, and this year it was nothing like that," said Binkerd. "We know you can't get to tomorrow if you don't get through today, so we're taking each match one at a time."
Saturday, UIndy won its ninth match in a row, starting with a closely contested opening set, 25-23. Taking advantage of Rockhurst's .054 hitting, the Greyhounds escaped a set that had 12 ties and six lead changes. Senior
Kenzie Bruggeman paced UIndy with six kills, while Binkerd started her night with 14 assists.
The Hawks took the second set, 25-18, answering their dismal first frame hitting with a .275 percentage. GLVC Freshman of the Year Morgan Rietzke had three
With the match tied 1-1, the Greyhounds turned in one of their best games of the season in a 25-12 set-three victory. Rockhurst managed just seven total kills on negative .105 hitting, while UIndy cruised to a 2-1 match advantage.
The fourth set was much like the first, as the teams vied for a hold on the match that featured nine ties and three lead changes. With a 18-17 lead, the Greyhounds reeled off seven of 10 points to claim the set and match.
Hailey Brown once again led UIndy with 15 kills, while Bruggeman,
Julia Watkins and
Brittany Anglemyer also finished in double figured. Watkins hit .320, while Anglemyer turned in a .647 percentage. Brown and Bruggeman each finished with double-doubles, while
Kimberly Trojan (17 digs) and
Arielle Knafel (11) turned in strong defensive performances.
It was Binkerd's distribution that fed the UIndy offense that outpaced Rockhurst in kills, 58 to 42. Her 51 assists is tied for second most in a four-set match, and the 58 team kills is the third most in such matches.
"We're peaking at the right point," said Binkerd, of her team's recent success. "We're more carefree, we understand volleyball is a game of errors. It makes more sense now to our team, and I think we're really playing well together."
The Hounds face the winner of Lewis and Truman State in Sunday's GLVC Tournament Championship at 2:00 p.m. Central. UIndy has won the title three times (2003, 2009, 2011).
