AURORA, Ill. – Junior Becca Lira totaled 16 kills to lead the UIndy volleyball team past GLIAC-member Tiffin 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-21) to wrap up the eighth annual Mizuno Midwest Region Crossover Tournament.

Lira's 16 kills came on a stellar .500 (16-2-28) attack percentage, and marked her sixth match this season with at least 15 kills. As a team, the Greyhounds hit a season-high .343 on 45 kills, 102 attempts and just 10 errors.

"We were firing on all cylinders today," Head Coach Jason Reed said, following the win. "Everyone contributed and did their part, it was a great team effort."

Reed continued: "We were aggressive with our service and it really impacted the tempo of the match. We found ourselves in great situations a lot and capitalized from it."

The Hounds (9-13) and Dragons (8-10) entered the tournament as the No. 9 seeds of their respective conferences, but the two shared little else in Saturday's sweep. While UIndy scorched Tiffin offensively, the Dragons hit just .095 – the lowest of any Greyhound opponent this year – finishing with 22 attack errors.

That low mark was due in part to UIndy's 10 team blocks. Junior Shelby Ruffner and sophomore Kacee Salyers each had five blocks. UIndy also had three individuals finish with double-digit digs, including senior Hailey Brown, and freshmen Maggie Gibson and Bri Heffernan.

UIndy faced minimal resistance in the first two sets, leading both from start to finish en route to a pair of 25-15 wins. The Hounds had five blocks in the opening frame, keeping the Dragons to a -.032 attack percentage. In the second set UIndy hit a remarkable .581, led by Lira's eight kills on nine swings.

Trailing 2-0, Tiffin put up a fight in a third set that featured nine ties and four lead changes. The Dragons led 13-8 midway through – helped by several early attack errors from the Hounds – forcing a timeout from Reed. Out of the break UIndy fought to draw the match even at 17-17, and eventually overcame Tiffin to win the set 25-21. Lira punctuated the victory with her 16th kill on match-point.

Gibson finished the match with 34 assists and 10 digs, good for her fifth double-double of the season. Ruffner totaled seven kills, followed by Salyers and freshman Kate Bontrager who had five apiece.

The Greyhounds resume GLVC action next week with critical road matches against East Division opponents Southern Indiana (12-7, 4-5 GLVC) and Bellarmine (8-12, 2-7). The Greyhounds sit just ahead of the Screaming Eagles for the fourth-place spot in the division, holding a one-match lead. The two meet next Friday, Oct. 23 at 8 p.m. The Hounds then face the Knights Saturday, Oct. 24 at 3 p.m.

NOTES
- UIndy is 6-0 against Tiffin all-time, and 2-0 when facing the Dragons at the Crossover Tournament. The teams' last meeting was a 3-1 Greyhound victory at the 2010 Crossover.