Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS -- Kristina Hefferan had 15 kills and 12 digs to lead No. 23 UIndy volleyball past No. 14 Northern Kentucky, 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22), in front of 303 at Ruth Lilly Center on Friday night for Pack the Stands Pink.

The Greyhounds (17-6, 13-2 GLVC) maintained their hold on first place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference over the Norse (21-4, 11-4 GLVC) and also helped their cause in the NCAA Midwest Region. UIndy was No. 4 in the region in the first regional rankings released Wednesday, while NKU was ranked second.

Kristina Kerrigan added 12 kills and four digs, while Courtney Anglemyer tied her season high with 11 kills and hit .409. Freshman Julia Watkins contributed a career-high eight kills, hit .500 and blocked five attempts.

Meghan Binkerd out-dueled Northern Kentucky's Jenna Schreiver with 50 assists, 11 digs, six kills and three blocks to 46 assists, 10 digs, four kills and two blocks. Amy Oldenburg led the back line with a match-high 25 digs, while Kimberly Trojan had nine and Courtney Roach picked up eight.

The Norse were led by Sarah Drennen with 15 kills and 12 digs, while Shelby Buschur hit .480 with 14 kills, but she also had five service errors and no aces.

The Norse hit .248 with 61 kills, while the Greyhounds countered with .220 hitting and 58 kills. NKU had four aces to go with seven errors, while UIndy was even at three each. The Hounds had 70 digs to 67 for the Norse, which also had a one-block lead, 8-7.

NKU jumped out to a 5-2 lead to start the re-match from a Sept. 10 encounter that the Norse won in five sets. UIndy came back to take a three-point lead, 14-11, after an error. The Norse evened the set at 16, but UIndy countered with kills by Hefferan, Kerrigan, Anglemyer and Binkerd for a four-point lead, 20-16. The Norse hung around within one, 23-22, but a ball-handling error by Schreiver during a heated rally followed by an ace from Oldenburg gave UIndy the opening set, 25-22.

The Hounds hit .351 with 17 kills, led by Hefferan hitting .500 with six kills. The Norse hit .325 with 15 kills.

Northern Kentucky scored the first five points of the second set, but UIndy was able to scuffle and tie the set, 10-10, after kills by Kerrigan and Watkins. NKU answered with three in a row to keep a cushion. After a kill by Anglemyer pulled UIndy within one, 15-14, NKU scored two in a row to keep the lead at three. UIndy couldn't mount another challenge and NKU evened the match, 25-19.

The Norse hit .378 with 18 kills, while limiting UIndy to .135 hitting with 11 kills.

A kill by Buschur put the Norse up four, 8-4, but UIndy fought back and took the lead, 10-8, after a 6-0 run. NKU tied the score three times, the last at 13, when UIndy scored three in a row with a block by Hannah Kelzer and Watkins and Kelzer kill. The Norse came back to tie again, 17-17, but an error and Oldenburg ace gave UIndy a two-point cushion. The lead grew to three, 23-20, but NKU answered with three in a row for an eighth tie. Kerrigan kept UIndy in front with a big kill on the outside and Watkins ended the set with a middle kill, 25-23.

UIndy hit .200 with 13 kills, including three each by Kerrigan, Anglemyer, Watkins and Hefferan. The Norse had 16 kills, but also eight errors on the way to hitting .174.

The Greyhounds built the big lead to start a set in the fourth frame with a 9-2 lead capped by a Roach ace. NKU re-grouped with a 7-1 run to pull within two, 10-8, and make things interesting. A kill by Kerrigan followed by two NKU miscues helped UIndy regain a six-point margin, 17-11. NKU was able to close within two points multiple times, including 24-22, but a kill by Hefferan from the left cinched the match, 25-22.

UIndy had 17 kills in the set on a .200 attack percentage, while NKU had a match-low 12 kills and hit .159 in the final set. Oldenburg racked up nine of her 25 digs in the fourth set.

UIndy wraps up its regular season home schedule with Senior Day tomorrow at 3 p.m. against Bellarmine (12-10, 6-9 GLVC), which won at Saint Joseph's on Friday night.