SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Less than 24 hours after a heartbreaking five-set loss at McKendree, the Greyhound volleyball team rallied to defeat Illinois Springfield, 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-23), Saturday afternoon.

UIndy improved to 7-10 overall, moving back above. 500 in Great Lakes Valley Conference action with a 5-4 mark. The Prairie Stars drop to 5-12 overall and 0-9 in-conference with the loss.

The Greyhounds put together a solid performance defensively, totaling nine team blocks and 58 digs (19.33 per set) while limiting the Prairie Stars to a .117 attacking percentage. Senior Shelby Ruffner chipped in seven block assists, and junior Kacee Salyers led all individuals with 14 digs.

After grabbing and maintaining a lead throughout most of the first set, UIndy fell victim to a late UIS rally that pulled the match within two, 23-21. After a Greyhound timeout, consecutive kills from Ruffner and Salyers shut the door on the set.

UIndy raced out to a sizeable 13-4 lead in the second set, making any Prairie Star comeback attempt futile. Again Ruffner delivered late, contributing on the final four Greyhound points (three kills, one block).

UIS showed some resilience in the third, leading by as many as 17-13 midway through the stanza. The Hounds rebounded, using a 6-2 run at the end of the set to seal the 3-0 sweep.

"We controlled the first ball contact well all afternoon," Head Coach Jason Reed said. "Our passing was very strong and allowed us to be in system and get a lot of players involved.

"I thought we served well, too, and it made the defensive side of the game easier."

Salyers notched her fourth double-double of the season and second in as many nights, totaling 10 kills to go with her 14 digs. Ruffner followed with nine kills on a sharp .389 (9-2-18) attacking clip.

Sophomore Maggie Gibson recorded 24 assists, nine digs and four blocks, and freshman Anna Fehribach had 12 digs and eight kills.

"This was a great rebound match for us," Reed noted. "We talked about coming out strong after a disappointing loss yesterday, and I thought we were very focused and executed well for most of the match.

UIndy next travels to Aurora, Ill., to compete in the annual Mizuno Midwest Volleyball Crossover at the Great Lakes Center Oct. 14-15, facing teams from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC).