EAST PEORIA, Ill. – UIndy volleyball's season came to a close Sunday in a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-23) loss to No. 23 Lewis in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship match.

Playing in their eighth GLVC final, the Greyhounds (17-17) lost a hard-fought battle to the national-ranked Flyers, who've had the Hounds' number in all three meetings this season. The defeat ended UIndy's dramatic tournament run through the GLVC Tournament and effectively dashes the hopes at an NCAA Midwest Regional bid.

Sunday's title bout featured two of the most successful programs in conference tournament history, as Lewis (nine) and UIndy (four) are first and second, respectively, in championships among current league members. This was also the fifth meeting between the two in the championship match, with Lewis winning in 2007, 2010 and 2015, and UIndy winning in 2009 and 2011.

The two sides were evenly matched out of the gate, trading points until the Flyers (30-4) used a 9-4 stretch to create all the distance they needed. Lewis hit an even .300 in the first set, compared to UIndy's .167. Junior Shelby Ruffner led the Hounds with six kills.

Set two was another close contest from the opening serve, as neither side led by more than three until Lewis' 6-1 run that gave the Flyers a 19-14 lead. The Hounds responded by pulling within one at 19-18, but was never able to completely erase the deficit. Junior Becca Lira had six of her nine kills in the game, as UIndy hit a sharp .414 (16-4-29).

Lewis clinched its fifth title in 10 years with a 25-23 victory in the third frame, yet another narrowly-contested set.

"A little bit of execution in their favor," Head Coach Jason Reed said, when asked about the difference in the close sets. "I thought that we battled well. I don't know that we passed as well as we had in the first two matches, we were out of system just a little bit more."

Reed continued: "I'm proud of our fight, I'm proud of our effort, but it was a few points and they were a little bit better than we were today."

The Greyhounds and Flyers look nearly identical in the box score, and on the court the two combined for 14 ties and seven lead changes.

"As you look at the stats, things are really, really the same, but we made a few more mistakes than they did," Reed said. "They scored a few more points than we did and in volleyball you've got to win by two, and they did that."

Ruffner put together a solid match with 13 kills and a .400 (13-5-20) attack percentage. Lira finished with nine kills, four digs, three assists and two block assists.

Sophomore Kacee Salyers had eight kills and hit .316 (8-2-19), while freshman Maggie Gibson totaled 29 assists and 11 digs.

Seniors Hailey Brown, Jamie Wallace, Hannah Bauer and Natalie Wichern finish their careers having led the Greyhounds from East Division 3-seed to GLVC runners-up.

"Our seniors did an exceptional job of kind of paving the way and showing how it works for the underclassmen, so we'll certainly miss them and their leadership," Reed noted. "They did an exceptional job with a young group of just getting us to this day, it was incredible."

The Flyers will advance to represent the GLVC in the 2015 NCAA Midwest Region. The complete regional field will be unveiled during tomorrow's NCAA Selection Show.