ALLENDALE, Mich. – An inspired comeback attempt from the UIndy volleyball team fell short Thursday, as the Greyhounds' 2014 season came to a close in a 3-2 (25-13, 27-25, 16-25, 21-25, 15-12) loss to Rockhurst in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional.

The five-seed Greyhounds (19-11) were making their eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and ninth overall, but couldn't overcome a 2-0 deficit to the four-seed Hawks (27-4), bringing an end to the campaign.

The match featured a remarkable 35 ties and 12 lead changes.

The teams traded points to start the match, but eventually the Hawks tore off nine points in a row to quickly take it from 9-8 to 19-8. Rockhurst closed out the opening set strong to win it 25-13. The Hounds managed to hit just .056 to the Hawks' .255 in the frame.

Rockhurst looked to go up 2-0 and was able to open a slight margin in the second set, keeping UIndy at arms' length. The Hounds trailed the majority of the set until scoring six in a row to grab a 20-18 lead and seemingly all of the momentum. But with the match tied 25-25, the Hawks scored two in a row to steal the set, 27-25, and take a 2-0 match lead.

Despite being a few bounces away from being tied 1-1, the Greyhounds refused to show any quit in the third frame. The Hawks worked up to a 15-12 lead in the third set, but UIndy clawed back with a remarkable 13-1 run to end the game, 25-16.

That run carried into the fourth set, where UIndy built a 22-19 lead behind strong play from multiple Hounds. Rockhurst scored two consecutive points on UIndy errors, making it 22-21, but after a timeout from Head Coach Jason Reed the Hounds scored the final three points to win the set, 25-21.

"I was proud of the way we fought," Reed noted, following the loss. "I thought we showed a lot of composure to be down 0-2 and force that fifth set."

The decisive set proved to be just as nail-biting, as Rockhurst held a slim 8-7 edge as the teams switched sides. The Hawks made it 10-8 before Reed used a timeout to quell the rally. UIndy responded by knotting it up at 10-10, but Rockhurst scored five of the match's final seven points to win the match and advance to face Truman State in the second round.

"At the end of the second and fifth sets we just had too many mistakes that were unfortunately untimely," Reed conceded. "We need to execute down the stretch, and today Rockhurst did a better job staying clean and closing out those sets."

UIndy played solid team defense for most of the match, accumulating a season-high 112 team digs. Kimberly Trojan (34 digs), and Lynsey Hazelwood (19) each set personal career highs, and Arielle Knafel (23) tied her best mark.

The Hounds also finished with more team kills (64) and assists (62) than any other match this season. Hailey Brown tied a career high with 22 kills, and Arielle Knafel recorded 17, tying her season high.

Senior Meghan Binkerd finished with 52 assists, one off of her season high, and giving her 5,616 for her career.

The loss marked the first time since 1998 the UIndy volleyball squad finished a season with fewer than 20 wins.