Box Score
INDIANAPOLIS - The meeting between Great Lakes Valley Conference undefeated division leaders ended up being the back-and-forth affair that many might expect when bragging rights for the best in the conference are at stake.
No. 10 UIndy volleyball took the early lead, but Missouri S&T fought back to force a decisive fifth set where the Greyhounds (22-3, 11-0 GLVC) regained control to take the match, 3-2 (25-16, 30-28, 24-26, 19-25, 15-9), from the Miners (14-10, 10-1 GLVC) in the Pink Match at Ruth Lilly Center on Sunday afternoon.
The Greyhounds scored the first point of the fifth set on a kill from
Julia Watkins to take a lead they would never relinquish. The Miners were able to tie the score at one and two, but then UIndy made some separation with a 4-1 run to lead by three, 6-3, after a kill by
Arielle Knafel.
The Miners called timeout and the teams traded points to keep them within two, 7-5, when
Kristina Kerrigan and
Brittany Anglemyer teamed on a block to start a 5-1 run to go up six, 12-6. Missouri S&T pulled within four, 13-9, but a kill by Watkins set up match point and then Julie Meyer's attack went wide, 15-9.
UIndy hit .273 in the final set with nine kills and were able to sideout on 9-of-10 points to never allow Missouri S&T to get the lead.
Overall, the Greyhounds were led by Kerrigan with 23 kills and career-high 25 digs, while Anglemyer had career highs of 19 kills and eight blocks. Knafel added a double-double of 13 kills and 13 digs, while
Kourtney Crawford had a career-high nine blocks and 12 kills.
Meghan Binkerd paced the offense with 65 assists as UIndy totaled 75 kills,
Amy Oldenburg had a career-high 29 digs, Watkins added eight blocks and
Kenzie Bruggeman picked up 14 digs.
The match featured tremendous defense at both the net and in the back row. UIndy had 17 blocks and 100 digs, while the Miners weren't far behind with 13 blocks and 97 digs, led by Jocelyn DeMotte with 36.
Meyer led S&T with 16 kills and 14 digs, while Krista Haslag added 16 kills and six blocks. Jennifer Costello finished with 56 assists, 17 digs and three blocks.
In the opening set, UIndy went on a 4-0 spurt as part of a bigger 7-2 run to lead by five, 11-6, after back-to-back Anglemyer kills. S&T called timeout and scored four in a row to stay close. The Greyhounds pulled away again as Watkins and Crawford combined for three consecutive blocks to help them go up by five, 17-12. The Miners didn't have an answer and UIndy pulled away to win, 25-16, on a bad set by Costello on set point.
A quick lead by the Greyhounds, 4-2, quickly turned into the Miners taking control, 13-10, behind their block. UIndy steadily climbed back into the set and regained the lead, 20-19, after a block by Binkerd and Anglemyer, but the Miners quickly scored two to take back the lead, 21-20.
A solo block by Watkins put UIndy back in front, 23-22, and Crawford's kill gave UIndy a set point, 24-23. The Miners saved and earned a set point of their own, 25-24, that Knafel's kill saved. The Miners had one more set point and UIndy had two until Costello committed a bad set and DeMotte was called for a ball-handling violation on the Greyhounds' third to seal the set, 30-28.
The lead went back-and-forth once in the early going of the third before S&T went in front, 3-2. There were 12 ties before the Miners took control, 23-18, with a 5-1 run. Kerrigan came back with a kill to stop the momentum as UIndy went on a 5-0 run to tie, 23-23, on Kerrigan's solo block. Missouri S&T finally scored for set point, but Kerrigan had another kill to save. UIndy couldn't take advantage as Binkerd then missed the following serve and S&T took advantage with a Meyer kill to win the set, 26-24.
The Miners got off to a fast start in the fourth with a four-point lead, 10-6, and UIndy was fighting from behind. UIndy was able to twice get within one point, but the Miners pulled away late to force the fifth set, 25-19.
The Greyhounds will now head to the road for their next five matches, starting next Friday at Southern Indiana (12-12, 8-3 GLVC) and Saturday at Kentucky Wesleyan (9-17, 2-9 GLVC). The final home weekend of the regular season will be at Ruth Lilly Center on Nov. 9-10 against Bellarmine and McKendree.
