AURORA, Ill. – The UIndy volleyball team (10-10) concluded the 2016 Mizuno Midwest Volleyball Crossover with a pair of thrilling victories. In their opening match on Saturday, the Greyhounds rallied from down 2-1 to earn a five-set (22-25, 25-16, 21-25. 25-14, 15-9) victory over Hillsdale College. In the nightcap, the Hounds were able to sweep Grand Valley State in three tightly-contested sets (34-32, 26-24, 25-21) to collect the program's first ever win over the Lakers. The day featured a special moment for senior Becca Lira, who became the 13th player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills.

Following the conclusion of the event, Kacee Salyers was named to the all-tournament team. The 36-team, two-day event, held at the Great Lakes Center in Aurora, Ill., is the largest collegiate volleyball tournament in the country.
 
UIndy 3, Hillsdale 2
The Hounds started the day with a match-up against GLIAC-power Hillsdale (12-6) in the morning session. The non-conference rivals faced off 10 times in a recent six-year stretch, but haven't seen each other since the 2014 Crossover.
 
Like 2014, the game needed five sets to decide a winner. But unlike '14, it was the Hounds that came out on top. Hillsdale built a 2-1 set advantage, but UIndy responded by taking the final two sets – both in convincing fashion – to record a key region win. The Hounds were relentless at the net down the stretch, hitting .474 in both the fourth and fifth set. They are now 7-7 all-time versus Hillsdale.
 
Individually, Lira entered the day with 999 career kills. The Granger, Ind., native wasted little time hitting the rare milestone, reaching quadruple digits early in the first set. She finished the match with her second straight double-double, racking a match-high 19 kills, 16 digs and a pair of blocks.
 
Junior Kacee Salyers, meanwhile, continued her hot serving hand. After tying the program record for most aces in a five-set match with six against Lake Erie yesterday, the junior outside compiled five aces against the Chargers to supplement an already impressive line of 16 kills, 21 digs and five blocks.
 
UIndy middles Shelby Ruffner and Katie Voelz combined for 10 blocks and a .392 hitting percentage, with Ruffner leading all the Greyhounds at .429.
 
Maggie Gibson and Remi Bowman split time at setter, amassing 36 and 23 assists, respectively.
 
Fun Fact: Current UIndy assistant coach Ashlee Crowder was an All-American outside hitter and two-time GLIAC Player of the Year in her playing days at Hillsdale.

UIndy 3, Grand Valley 0
The night session gave the Greyhounds a chance to earn their first win over Grand Valley State (11-8) in the 11th showdown between the two programs. The first set was an instant classic that featured 21 ties and nine lead changes and was ultimately decided by a pair of Laker errors that closed out the set and gave UIndy a 34-32 game one win.
 
Game two saw the Hounds jump out to an early 5-2 lead following four consecutive attack errors by the Lakers. The Greyhounds maintained their lead throughout the set and reached game point with a 24-21 lead. But the Lakers would rally to score the next three points to even up the set.
 
Ruffner played a key role in halting the Lakers' momentum, recording a kill to put UIndy back in front and teaming with Gibson for a game-ending block and a 26-24 Hounds win in set two.
 
With the Lakers holding a 10-9 lead early in the third set, the Greyhounds ripped off a quick 4-0 run to take the lead for good. Grand Valley was able to cut the deficit to 18-16 later in the set, but the Hounds' rode an offensive attack that hit .323 in the final set to a 25-21 match-deciding win.
 
Lira and Salyers both recorded double-doubles in the win. Salyers had 13 kills and added 13 digs while Lira also had 13 kills while digging up 10 Laker attack attempts. Voelz chipped in with 11 kills for UIndy.
 
Salyers and Ruffner had four blocks each for a UIndy defense that finished with 16 rejections in the match. Kate Bontrager slid into the libero spot and finished with 16 digs on the night.
 
The Greyhounds will jump back into GLVC play on Friday night (Oct. 21), when they welcome the Bellarmine Knights to town. First serve from Ruth Lilly is set for 7:00 p.m.