INDIANAPOLIS – A balanced offensive attack and quality contributions from several newcomers helped the UIndy volleyball team defeat visiting Illinois Springfield 3-1 (24-26, 25-21, 25-19, 25-17) Friday night in the Ruth Lilly Fitness Center.

Competing in their annual "Dig Pink" match, the Hounds (7-11, 4-4 GLVC) sported bright pink jerseys while playing in front of a largely pink-clad crowd.

"Good teams are going to find a way to win when it's not pretty, and we did that tonight," Head Coach Jason Reed said. "We saw some really strong attacking from Shelby Ruffner, Kate Bontrager and Becca Lira. This was one of the few nights we've had double digit kill contributors this season."

Freshmen Kate Bontrager and junior Becca Lira proved to be crucial to the Greyhound offense. Bontrager recorded a career-best 14 kills while hitting .310 (14-5-29), and Lira had 13 kills. Junior-transfer Shelby Ruffner finished with 11 kills on a career-high .588 (11-1-17) attack percentage.

As a team, UIndy hit .310 (52 kills, 13 errors, 122 attempts), marking the second-best percentage this season. Freshman Maggie Gibson – who totaled 43 assists and eight kills – helped facilitate the attack.
"Hitting over .300 and getting that type of contribution from so many different players is a great recipe for a win," Reed noted.

Illinois Springfield (4-13, 2-6) came in having lost all five matches against UIndy since joining the conference in 2008, but the upset-minded Prairie Stars took the opening set, 26-24. UIS hit an impressive .357 in the opening frame to take an early 1-0 lead.

The Greyhounds answered with a 25-21 victory in the second, never trailing the entire set. Bontrager led the way with seven kills in the opening set, but it was junior Becca Lira pacing the balanced Hounds with four in the second.

UIndy kept the ball rolling with a 25-19 win in the third frame, hitting a stellar .520 as a team. Bontrager again led the attack with five kills, and Gibson tallied 10 assists and three kills.

The Hounds closed the match with a convincing 25-17 win in the fourth set. Again UIndy went the distance without trailing, holding the Prairie Stars to a match-low .222 attack percentage.

Senior Hailey Brown – who played in the libero role for the final three sets – had nine digs and two service aces. Freshman Bri Heffernan led the team with 12 digs. Gibson and sophomore Kacee Salyers finished with eight kills apiece.

UIndy returns to action tomorrow (Saturday) against McKendree at 3 p.m. in the Ruth Lilly Fitness Center. The Bearcats (12-5, 7-1) sit second in the GLVC East standings behind nationally-ranked Lewis, and have defeated the Greyhounds each of their last three meetings.

NOTES
- The Greyhounds are now a perfect 6-0 all-time against Illinois Springfield, winning 18 of 19 matches.
- Bontrager's previous career-high was 11 kills, set last Saturday (Oct. 3) against Kentucky State.
- Ruffner's previous attacking career-high (minimum five attempts) was a .556 clip, set against Saint Joseph's (Oct. 6).
- Since filling in for an injured Natalie Wichern, Gibson has averaged 10.47 assists per set.
- Gibson's eight kills set a career high.