AURORA, Ill. – The UIndy volleyball team (8-10) opened the 2016 Mizuno Midwest Region Volleyball Crossover with a five-set win against Lake Erie College Friday (25-14, 25-17, 24-26, 21-25, 18-16). Billed as the nation's largest collegiate volleyball tournament, the 36-team, two-day event is being held at the Great Lakes Center in Aurora, Ill., Oct. 14-15.
 
In the first-ever meeting with Lake Erie, the Greyhounds out-hit the Storm .170 to .153 while racking up 11 service aces for the match, one short of their season high. The latter total was boosted by six aces from junior Kacee Salyers, who matched the program record for most aces in the five-set match.
 
Senior Becca Lira had a monster match statistically, notching her fifth double-double of the season with a match-high 18 kills to go with 19 digs. The Granger, Ind., native will enter tomorrow's Crossover matches one kill shy of 1,000 for her career.
 
The Hounds jumped in front with convincing wins in each of the first two sets, but the Storm (12-8), in the midst of their first double-digit-win season since 2009,  rallied with hard-fought victories in the next two sets to force a fifth.
 
The final frame started with UIndy scoring the first four points, but Lake Erie would battle back to earn a 10-9 lead in the race the 15. Later facing a 14-13 deficit, the Hounds came out of a timeout and fought off match point to spark a game-ending 5-2 run to earn the 18-16 win in the decisive set.
 
Salyers added 17 kills, 17 digs and three blocks to her record-tying service ace sum. Katie Voelz hit a team-high .333 with 17 kills and five blocks, Maggie Gibson and Remi Bowman combined for 55 assists, while Kate Bontrager scooped 18 digs at libero.
 
Action continues tomorrow at the Midwest Crossover with a pair of contests, both against GLIAC foes. First the Hounds face Hillsdale College at 11 a.m. ET, followed by a match versus Grand Valley State at 5 p.m. ET.