PENSACOLA, Fla.- The No. 16-ranked University of Indianapolis volleyball team raced out to a solid start to the 2008 season, sweeping a pair of matches during the first day of action at the West Florida Comfort Inn-vitational Friday. Led by all-tournament performers Kyleigh Turner (left) and Lyndsay Callahan, the Hounds dominated Henderson State in the opener (25-12, 25-14, 25-13) before another impressive showing against Flagler (25-20, 25-21, 25-16) in the afternoon. On Saturday, UIndy downed Eckerd in the morning, before host #23 UWF slipped by with a 3-1 win in the nightcap.
#16 UIndy 3, Henderson State 0
The Greyhounds hit .368 en route to a convincing win in the season opener for both teams. Sophomore Lyndsay Callahan powered home 16 kills against just two errors in the win. Sophomore Cheneta Morrison added 10 kills and junior Kyleigh Turner produced a dozen digs.
#16 UIndy 3, Flagler 0
Senior Beth Robbins had five kills on six attacks and chipped-in 35 assists and three service aces as the Hounds raced past Flagler. Morrison led the offense with 10 kills. Callahan added nine kills and freshman Courtney Anglemyer contributed eight finishes for the Hounds.
#16 UIndy 3, Eckerd 0
Eckerd kept it close but could not overcome as UIndy earned its thrid straight sweep win at the tourney. Morrison again led the troops with 12 kills. Callahan killed eight balls and had 10 digs. Robbins had 10 digs and paced the offense with her 33 assists.
#23 West Florida 3, #16 UIndy 1
The host Argonauts handed the Greyhounds their first set loss of the season, but UIndy responded quickly with a win in set number two to square-up the match. In the third set, the home team gained control midway through, rattling off five straight points after a 15-15 score, eventually winning the set, 25-19, to take a strangle-hold on the match.
UWF appeared to have the match sewn up, taking a 20-15 lead in the deciding set. But, two kills from Callahan helped get the Hounds back into it and eventually inch to within a point at 23-22. With the Argos needing just one point to secure the win, UIndy got three straight kills to force a timeout with a 25-24 advantage. After a service error gave the serve back to UWF, the Argos got three straight kills from hitter Chelsea Wilhoite to hand the Hounds the loss.
Callahan etched 15 kills on 59 attacks and Robbins added 44 assists. Four different players had double-digits dig totals led by 19 apiece from Morrison and Turner.
Immediately following the final matches, tournament officials announced the 2008 Comfort Inn-vitational All-Tournament Team. Coaches from the ten participating schools voted two Greyhounds to the 10-woman squad. Lyndsay Callahan finished the two-day event with 48 kills and a .326 hitting percentage, while Kyleigh Turner managed 52 digs and five aces.
2008 Comfort Inn-vitational All-Tournament Team
MVP: Madeline Gonzalez (West Florida)
Libero: Kyleigh Turner (UIndy)
Setter: Marcela Vasconscelos (Florida Tech)
Right Side: Luciana Rapach (West Florida)
Middle Hitter: Keisha Carter (Eckerd), Patricia Gandolfo (West Florida)
Outside Hitter: Justine Burkhardt (Flagler), Lyndsay Callahan (UIndy), Regiane Silva (Eckerd)
Utility: Jessica Cook (West Alabama)
UIndy (3-1) travels to Romeoville, Ill. next weekend for the Flyer Invitational for the next five matches. The Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule gets underway with a neutral match against Wisconsin-Parkside on Sep. 4 followed by non-conference matches against Nova Southeastern, Western New Mexico, Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech.
