INDIANAPOLIS – The No. 24 Rockhurst Hawks spoiled UIndy volleyball's home finale Saturday afternoon, defeating the Greyhounds 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-22) in the Ruth Lilly Center.
In a certain validation of their national ranking, the Hawks improved to 23-5 overall and 13-2 in Great Lakes Valley Conference action, hitting a blistering .336 as a team.
UIndy fell to 13-14 and 8-7 in-conference, remaining in the hunt for a berth in the upcoming GLVC Championship Tournament.
Rockhurst owned the first set, hitting .353 while committing just one attacking error en route to a 25-11 decision. On the other side of the net, the Hounds stumbled out of the gate with a negative offensive effort as only three individuals got in the scoring column.
The second and third sets were much different stories, but unfortunately for the Hounds they still held the same result.
In the second, UIndy finally took its first lead of the match at 10-9, and continued to play neck-and-neck with the Hawks until the set drew even at 20-20. Junior
Kacee Salyers ignited the Hounds' resurgence, racking up six kills on nine swings.
Rockhurst rattled off five straight points to close the set, however, and got seven kills from outside hitter Morgan Rietzke to grab a 2-0 match lead behind a 25-20 win.
The Greyhounds put together their best set in the third, hitting a combined .389 with 15 kills and only one attack error, facilitated by 12 assists from sophomore
Maggie Gibson. But the Hawks denied a late Greyhound rally in the end, escaping with a 25-22 win to secure the sweep.
Salyers led UIndy with 11 kills, hitting .280 while adding three blocks. Senior
Becca Lira followed with nine kills.
Gibson finished the day with 32 assists, five digs and a pair of blocks.
UIndy plays its final three matches on the road, starting with a midweek bout against in-state rival Saint Joseph's this upcoming Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 8 p.m. ET in Rensselaer, Ind.
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