EAST PEORIA, Ill. – UIndy volleyball refuses to close the book on its 2015 campaign, defeating McKendree 3-2 (25-22, 25-18, 20-25, 22-25, 15-13) Saturday in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament semifinals.

In fact, the Greyhounds (17-16) seem to be adding a new chapter, earning a spot in the program's eighth conference championship match while seeking their fifth title.

Standing in UIndy's path Saturday was McKendree (22-11), the same team that knocked the Hounds out in the 2014 GLVC semifinals on the very same court in the Eastside Centre. The Bearcat squad that earned the East Division's top seed by compiling a 15-3 regular season GLVC record.

One of those three losses came Oct. 10 at UIndy, however, as the Greyhounds racked up 15 team blocks in the victory. Saturday, the Hounds matched that block total, led by a stellar 10-block match from junior Shelby Ruffner.

The Bearcats looked like they were pulling away for a victory in the opening set, leading 22-19 after a Taylor Voss Kill. But the Greyhounds scored the set's final six points, including a pair of kills from Friday's standout, sophomore Kacee Salyers.

UIndy's momentum from the win carried over into the second set, where it started on an 8-1 run before McKendree needed a timeout. Not long after, the Bearcats had to burn their second timeout as the Greyhounds sprinted to a 13-4 advantage.

The extended stretch that spanned from the end of the first set through most of the second ended up with UIndy scoring 25 of 30 points.

McKendree battled for the remainder of the set, slicing into the Hounds' sizeable lead and getting back within six at 24-18. But it would have taken a Herculean effort to undo the damage the Hounds caused, and in the end UIndy went into the 10-minute intermission up 2-0.

"I think we all came in with the mindset that we weren't going to lose," senior Hailey Brown said, regarding the Hounds' strong start and quick 2-0 lead. "That's important when coming into a championship like this when everyone's (record is) 0-0."

The Bearcats weren't about to go quietly, however, and despite a late rally from the Hounds managed to keep the match going with a 25-20 win in the third set.

McKendree won the all-important fourth set, as well, as GLVC Player of the Year Arela Williams had five of her 14 kills in the Bearcats' 25-22 victory.

With their backs on the wall and all momentum seemingly in the McKendree camp, the Greyhounds were staring at a potential season-ending game.

The set was closely contested, as expected, and went down to the wire as neither team could maintain a substantial lead. UIndy got to match point (14-11) on a kill from junior Shelby Ruffner, but the Bearcats scored two quick points to force a timeout from Head Coach Jason Reed.

On the very next play, Ruffner dropped in her 13th kill to send the Hounds to the GLVC Championship.

"It was just a gut check time," Brown said. "I really think we showed a lot of grit, the last couple points especially. We thought back to preseason when we went through all that training, and you don't want to not follow through after going through so much."

For the second straight match sophomore Kacee Salyers paced the Greyhounds with 15 kills, adding three block assists. Freshman Kate Bontrager totaled 12 kills while also contributing three block assists. Running the offense was freshman setter Maggie Gibson, who had 48 assists.

Ruffner had an all-around magnificent performance, finishing with 13 kills while hitting .522 (13-1-23) to go along with her 10 blocks.

Brown led the Hounds with 20 digs, followed by 14 from Gibson and 12 from junior Becca Lira. Gibson, Lira and freshman Katie Voelz each had four block assists. Lira also recorded five of the Hounds' nine service aces.

The Greyhounds will vie for their fifth GLVC Championship Sunday against either No. 5 Rockhurst (31-2) or No. 23 Lewis (28-4) at 1 p.m. ET. UIndy is 8-2 in its last 10 matches, but those two defeats came at Rockhurst (Nov. 6) and against Lewis (Nov. 13).