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INDIANAPOLIS – No. 19 and top-seeded UIndy against fifth-seeded Ferris State marked a contrast in volleyball philosophy with the speed and defense of the Greyhounds against the size and blocking of the Bulldogs. On Friday night, in front of another packed house at Ruth Lilly Center in the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship Midwest Regional, it was Hounds' volleyball that proved itself superior on this particular evening, 3-0 (25-23, 30-28, 25-17).

The Greyhounds (29-7) move on to the regional championship match and the chance to advance to the Elite Eight for the fourth year in a row against No. 6 seed Hillsdale (17-15) on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Bulldogs finish the season 24-8 after falling to UIndy in the regional semis for the second tournament in a row.

Daktronics, Inc., Midwest Region Player of the Year Kristina Kerrigan led the way with her 21st double-double of the season with 17 kills and 14 digs, while junior Brittany Anglemyer hit .304 with 12 kills and two blocks. Sophomore setter Meghan Binkerd spread the ball around for 42 assists with five hitters accounting for six or more kills. She also added 12 digs, while senior Amy Oldenburg had a match-high 14 and junior Kenzie Bruggeman picked up 13 digs and seven kills.

UIndy used its superior defense with 60 digs (FSU had 39) to help limit the Bulldogs to .168 attacking and 35 kills. Ferris State was able to tally 10 total blocks, but the Hounds still found a way to hit .220 as a team with 50 kills. The Greyhounds were also effective at the service line with five aces and six errors, while the Bulldogs had three aces and eight errors.

Senior Anne Sutton had 10 kills, match-high four blocks and .321 attacking for FSU, while senior Aly Brecht added 10 kills and six digs. Senior Samantha Fordyce picked up 30 assists and junior Brandie Merren led the back row with 13 digs.

Kills by Kerrigan, Julia Watkins (who finished hitting .556 with six kills) and Anglemyer had three kills in a row as UIndy opened the match with a four-point lead, 6-2. The Bulldogs never allowed UIndy to pull away by more and cut the lead to one, 16-15, after three errors by UIndy. The Greyhounds responded with an Anglemyer kill and then FSU committed two errors to push the lead back to four, 19-15, and force FSU to call timeout. A kill by Kerrigan, FSU error and Binkerd ace put the lead to six, 22-16, and FSU called its last timeout. Ferris was able to mount one more rally and saved three set points before Anglemyer found the court to finish the opening set, 25-23. Ferris State actually hit .312 in the opening set, but missed five serves, committed two blocking errors and one ball-handling error. The Greyhounds tallied 16 kills and had eight more digs in the set, 17-9.

The Greyhounds took command early in the second set with a five-point lead, 11-6, after a Kimberly Trojan ace that led to an FSU timeout. The Greyhounds continued to play well and forced FSU to use its last timeout, 17-13, after a Crawford kill.

The second stoppage seemed to steady the Bulldogs and UIndy got a little sloppy with four missed attacks during a 5-0 run that gave Ferris the lead, 19-18. Anglemyer tied the score with a kill, but the Bulldogs were able to score the next two to get a cushion, 21-19. Paige Wyers then missed a serve and Kerrigan scored to even the set.

The teams would trade points as UIndy had three set points and Ferris State had a pair. The difference came at 28-all after FSU had saved its third set point with a block. Courtney Rehm missed a tip shot into the net and then a good serve by Bruggeman forced a scramble on the next point and Brecht made double-contact on her attempt to pass the ball over the net to end the set, 30-28.

The Bulldogs hit .070 with 13 kills and nine errors, while the Greyhounds tallied 17 kills and 12 errors to hit .104.

Ferris State scored the first two points of the third set and still led by one, 10-9, when UIndy went on a 5-0 run with kills by Anglemyer, Kerrigan and Trojan from the back row to set up back-to-back Bruggeman aces.  Ferris State came back to within two, 15-13, but the Greyhounds had another 5-0 run with three kills from Kerrigan to stretch their lead, 20-13. The Bulldogs didn't have another challenge and UIndy sent the crowd into a frenzy as Crawford and Anglemyer stuffed Brecht to end the match, 25-17.

UIndy finished the match hitting .351 with 17 kills, while Ferris State had just 10 kills. Kerrigan closed out the match with seven kills and .357 attacking in the closing set.

The Greyhounds and Chargers will be meeting for the second time this season after crossing paths during the second week of the season at the Findlay Fall Classic with UIndy winning in three sets. The programs are no strangers in the postseason as this will mark the fourth year in a row and fifth meeting ever in the NCAA Tournament. The Greyhounds won the first three meetings, but Hillsdale took the win last year, 3-1, when they hosted the regional final.