INDIANAPOLIS – While technically not their final match played within the friendly confines of Ruth Lilly Center, UIndy volleyball seniors Becca Lira and Shelby Ruffner will forever have fond Senior Night memories after a thrilling five-set victory over the visiting William Jewell Cardinals Friday night.

In a much-needed Great Lakes Valley Conference contest, the Greyhounds (13-13, 8-6 GLVC) won 3-2 behind scores of 25-16, 22-25, 25-21, 19-25, and 15-12. For their part, Lira and Ruffner paced the Hounds with 18 and 14 kills, respectively.

"I just wanted to go out there and have a great game, have everybody playing together, and really focus on getting that 'W'," Lira said. Her teammate Ruffner added, "Every match from here on out is important for us, so it was less worrying about the senior celebration and more about getting the win."

UIndy shot out of the gates with a 25-16 win in the opening set, holding the Cardinals (11-17, 4-10) to a negative hitting percentage (-.023) while racking up 20 team digs.

William Jewell found its offensive stride in the second, converting 19 kills on 19 assists in a 25-22 decision that evened the match at 1-1, denying a couple of comeback attempts from the home side.

The seesaw match continued in the third, where it was the Hounds who stayed one step ahead of the opposition. UIndy never trailed throughout the set, and got multiple kills from four individuals and 10 assists from sophomore Maggie Gibson.

The Cardinals hit a match-high .391 in the fourth, converting 12 kills and just three errors on 23 swings, forcing a decisive fifth frame with a 25-19 win.

Through four sets, the Hounds had a slight 91-87 lead in points scored, leading to an inevitably close final stanza. Despite its shortened length, the fifth set held more ties (7) and lead changes (5) than any other.

In the end, the Hounds put together a 5-1 run after trailing 11-10, and sealed the victory on a William Jewell error on match-point.

As a team, UIndy improved its hitting percentage each set, culminating in a .292 (9-2-24) effort in the final set. The Hounds hit .221 overall to the Cardinals' .128, and finished with a marginal 78-74 edge in team digs.

Lira coupled her 18 kills with 14 digs, good for her eighth double-double of the campaign. Ruffner's night included 14 kills on a .265 attack percentage and three blocks, totaling 16.0 points.

"The energy was a lot of fun tonight, the crowd was going crazy toward the end," Ruffner said. "It was so loud in here I couldn't really hear my teammates, so it was awesome."

Lira agreed, saying, "We rely a lot on energy to carry us, and it's something we focus on even in practice. I thought we really showed that tonight."

Junior Kacee Salyers notched her team-leading 10th double-double with 18 digs and 10 kills, and Gibson also tallied a double-double behind a season-best 52 assists and 12 digs.

Sophomore Kate Bontrager led UIndy with 24 digs from the libero position, and classmate Katie Voelz had nine kills on an efficient .412 hitting clip.

The Greyhounds close out their home schedule with a stout Saturday match against No. 24 Rockhurst. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.