Box score

ROMEOVILLE, Ill.- The ninth-ranked University of Indianapolis volleyball team earned victory No. 34 Saturday to set a new program record for wins in a season.  The triumph came in the semifinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament, as the Greyhounds bounced six-seeded Southern Indiana in four sets – 22-25, 25-14, 25-23, 25-22.

The match didn't start very promising for Indianapolis as the Greyhounds dropped the opening set for  just the sixth time this season.  UIndy led by as many as seven and held leads of 20-13 and 22-17 but couldn't hang on.  The Screaming Eagles (18-14) orchestrated an impressive 8-0 run to finish the set and take the early lead.  USI had seven kills in the aforementioned rally, upping its team hitting percentage to .368 in the frame.

As well as they hit in the first set, the Eagles could only muster a .100 hitting percentage in the second as the Hounds quickly changed the tone of the match.  USI led 5-3 early, but Indianapolis scored 12 of the next 14 points, capped by back-to-back kills from Kristina Kerrigan and a service ace from Cheneta Morrison.

In contrast to the lopsided second frame, the match's third set was a classic see-saw affair that featured nine ties and five lead changes.  USI earned a slight cushion at 21-19, but UIndy scored three straight before taking the set 25-23.

The teams traded runs to start the fourth set, as the Eagles led 5-0 before UIndy answered with six straight points.  The Greyhounds slowly pulled away from that point with their lead peaking at six before earning the 25-22 win to take the match.

Five Hounds had at least nine kills, with a team-high 13 coming from both Kerrigan and Courtney Anglemyer, with the latter doing her damage on just 22 swings.  Lyndsay Callahan had 11 kills and 13 digs, Morrison had 51 assists and nine digs, and Hannah Kelzer set a new career high in blocks for the second straight day with nine block assists.  Meanwhile, USI sophomore Danielle LaGrange amassed the highest kill total by a GLVC player this year with 27 kills in a losing effort.

The stage is set.  A match-up between two 30-win teams is on tap for Sunday afternoon as 11th-ranked and top-seeded Lewis (30-3) will host the the Hounds (34-1) in the GLVC final, scheduled for 2 p.m. EST.  As the three-time defending champions, Lewis has eliminated UIndy from the GLVC Tourney in each of the previous two seasons, including the 2007 final.  The Greyhounds' only defeat this year came at the hands of the Flyers in Indianapolis back on Sep. 18.


Note:  UIndy's appearance in the GLVC Tournament final marks its fourth since 2003, a year that featured the Hounds' one and only conference title.