INDIANAPOLIS – A career-high 20 kills from freshman Kate Bontrager highlighted a bevy of strong individual performances in UIndy volleyball's 3-1 (28-26, 25-21, 23-25, 25-18) victory over visiting Truman State University Saturday in Ruth Lilly.

The freshman outside did her damage behind a team-high .444 (20-4-36) attack percentage, adding nine digs and a block assist.

Also stuffing the stat sheet was junior Becca Lira (16 kills, 12 digs), freshman Maggie Gibson (52 assists, 14 digs) and senior Hailey Brown (25 digs).

The Greyhounds (12-14, 8-5 GLVC) improved to a perfect 6-0 in Ruth Lilly Fitness Center, and also continued their effort to secure a bid to the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. Truman fell to 14-11 overall and 7-6 in-conference.

In the opening game each side went back-and-forth with early runs, ultimately settling into a marathon set that featured 11 ties and four lead changes. Tied 26-26, UIndy's Lira and Bontrager slammed home consecutive kills to seal the 1-0 match lead. Gibson totaled 19 assists in the set.

The Greyhounds appeared to cruise to an easy win in the second before a late rally from the Bulldogs threatened to spoil the set. Sophomore Kacee Salyers' kill midway through the set gave UIndy a sizeable 24-15 lead, but just one point from victory the Hounds surrendered a 6-0 run that gave Truman momentum. After Head Coach Jason Reed called a timeout, his Greyhounds regrouped to take the set, 25-21.

Truman won the closely contested third set, 25-23. The frame had 10 ties and six lead changes, but the Bulldogs came out on top to extend the match.

UIndy emphatically shut the door in the fourth, racing to an 11-3 lead and never looking back en route to a 25-18 win. The Hounds got four kills each from Bontrager and junior Shelby Ruffner, hitting .244 as a team.

Brown's 25 digs led the way as the Hounds finished with 90 as a team. Gibson, Lira and freshman Bri Heffernan each recorded double-figure digs.

Following Bontrager's 20 kills was Lira (16 kills) and Salyers (12) and Ruffner (9). UIndy finished with a .228 attacking mark, compared to a .164 percentage from the Bulldogs.

UIndy hits the road next weekend for a pair of matches against GLVC West opponents. Friday's first serve against No. 8 Rockhurst is at 8 p.m. ET, and Saturday's versus William Jewell will be at 4 p.m.

NOTES
- UIndy is now 4-1 all-time against Truman State, winning the last four meetings.
- Bontrager's previous career-high kills was 14 vs. Illinois Springfield (10/9).
- Gibson has 50+ assists in two of the last three matches.
- Brown has 20+ digs in each of the last three matches.