SOMERS, Wis. – Although listed on the schedule as a regular season contest, Saturday's volleyball bout between UIndy and Wisconsin-Parkside may as well have been a play-in match to the upcoming Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship Tournament.

The Greyhounds and Rangers entered sporting identical 9-8 conference records, with the East Division's third and final seed on the line (both wildcards were wrapped up by the West Division). Facing the simple yet formidable equation, the Hounds stepped up in the win-or-go-home match, defeating the host Rangers 3-1 (20-25, 27-25, 25-20, 27-25) in DeSimone Gymnasium.

Perhaps most impressive in the win was UIndy's resilience after a subpar opening set, which the Rangers led from start to finish while holding the Hounds to a negative hitting percentage. Parkside got seven kills on seven swings from Rebecca Roembke, and finished with 19 team digs and three blocks.

The pivotal set in the match proved to be the second, where the Hounds gritted out a narrow 27-25 victory after 18 ties and five lead changes. UIndy hit .308 (16-4-39) as a team, getting three or more kills from four individuals.

The Rangers were the first to reach match-point, however, leading 24-23 after a Lexi Turek kill. But a service error gave UIndy life, and later, with the frame tied 25-25, junior Kacee Salyers delivered a kill to make it 26-25. Senior Shelby Ruffner followed with a solo block to turn what might have been a troublesome 0-2 hole into a 1-1 draw.

"Each of our players cleaned up their individual play a bit, and bettered each contact," Head Coach Jason Reed said, following the win. "We focused on earning each point, and knew if we could finish on top in the second set and use that momentum and get a good start in set three we would be setting ourselves up for success for the rest of the match."

The Hounds did just that, weathering a late Parkside rally to win the set 25-20, led by Ruffner's five kills and sophomore Maggie Gibson's 13 assists. UIndy also finished with 19 digs as Parkside hit just .077 (10-7-39).

Behind a sound defensive effort and more crunch-time execution, the Hounds sealed their postseason berth with a 27-25 decision in the fourth. After Turek tied the match at 25 apiece for the Rangers, UWP's Lexi Calloway committed a service error to put UIndy up on match-point. From there, senior Becca Lira finished things off with her 11th kill of the match on Gibson's 48th assist.

"This match was about who had the most momentum and energy, and we were able to win that battle while executing at a high level," Reed said. "I'm very proud of the girls, and we are all ready for a solid week of practice before so we can head into the conference tournament strong."

Ruffner led the Hounds with 14 kills on an efficient .360 hitting percentage, and Salyers followed with 12 to go along with 12 digs. Lira paired her 11 kills with a match-high 20 digs.

Lira, Gibson (17 digs), Katie Voelz (13), Salyers, and Mary Grace Ertel (10) each tallied double figure digs to help UIndy rack up 81 team digs, second-most this season.

By virtue of their 10-8 conference record, the Hounds will meet the West one-seed Rockhurst in the opening round of next weekend's tournament, which is being held at the Eastside Centre in East Peoria, Ill. from Nov. 18-20.