AURORA, Ill. – Friday marked the first day of the 2017 Mizuno Midwest Region Crossover, the largest collegiate volleyball tournament in the country. On the first day of its 10th edition, the UIndy volleyball team dropped a tough first match to the G-MAC's Lake Erie in four sets before succumbing to GLIAC member and No. 13 Ferris State in the nightcap.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
vs. Lake Erie
The Greyhounds jumped out a first-set victory, hitting.293 as a team while forcing the Storm to six attacking errors. A pair of kills by Teigan Flaws sparked a 4-0 run to give UIndy a 10-5 lead before the teams traded points throughout the frame. Mary Grace Ertel and Katie Voelz recorded kills late in the opener en route to the 25-17 victory.
 
The final three sets the Greyhounds would lose by a combined six points, and all by the same score of 25-23. UIndy led 5-1 in part to Julia Kruzan and a couple kills to build on the first-set momentum. A kill by Lauren Koopman and Rachel Irbe gave the Greyhounds a 13-5 lead, and even led as late as 16-8 after libero Olivia Martin snuck an attack onto the Storm floor. Unfortunately, leading throughout the set didn't live to mean anything as Lake Erie scored the final five points after a series of rallies to even the match.
 
Lake Erie led for the entirety of the third set, but a kill by Anna Fehribach inched the Greyhounds to within striking distance at a 23-22 deficit. The Storm would control the final points to take the 2-1 advantage. Koopman's fifth and final kill of the match gave UIndy a 5-2 lead in the fourth set, but Lake Erie took the lead after a 9-4 run. Julia Kruzan countered each Storm attack late in the frame, recording three straight kills for the Greyhounds, but it proved to not be enough as it ended in four.
 
vs. Ferris State
The No. 13 team in NCAA Division II proved to be too much for the Greyhounds in the nightcap. The teams traded points through the first set until it was knotted at 10 apiece. Ferris State scored five consecutive points to break the match open, and fended off UIndy to win 25-19.
 
A kill by Katie Voelz followed by a Ferris State error had the match tied at three in the early stages of the second set. Kruzan stayed on her hot streak for the day, killing a Ferris State rally prior to Alyssa Spears dropping a service ace through the opposition's defense. Multiple kills by Irbe led to the Greyhounds growing a 10-6 lead, but the team in crimson couldn't stop the Ferris State attack for 10 straight rallies. Fehribach and Irbe recorded kills late in the second, but the Bulldogs finished it off to the same score as the opener.
 
UIndy opened the third set with a slightly different looking lineup, hanging with Ferris State to the tune of a 12-10 deficit. Katie Furlong had two straight kills for the Greyhounds to get them within one later in the set, but another long run of rallies proved to be the difference as the Bulldogs finished off the third set with a 7-0 run.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
vs. Lake Erie
- Julia Kruzan recorded double-digit kills with at least a .400 hitting percentage for the fourth time this season. The sophomore led the team with 16 kills, the second-highest total for a Greyhound in 2017. It is the fifth time this season Kruzan has paced the team in kills.
 
- Irbe had another 13 kills and 12 digs in the match, good for her third straight double-double.
 
- Spears dished out 28 assists against the Storm, her highest total of the season. It was the fourth consecutive match she surpassed the 20-mark and the seventh time this season.
 
- Martin had 30 digs in the four-setter, just the second time the freshman has recorded at least that many. The only other time was at Bellarmine on October 3 when she set a new program record with 41 digs.
 
vs. Ferris State
- Kailey Kleinert blocked two attacks by herself in the match, the third time this season the senior has had multiple solo stops.
 
- Kruzan led the Greyhounds with seven kills, the sixth time this season and two straight matches she has led the team in the category.
 
- Irbe has now had at least one service ace in three straight matches, and the 11th match overall the sophomore has added that to her box score line.
 
UP NEXT
The Greyhounds are set up with a rematch of the UIndy Invitational against the Grand Valley State Lakers tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. UIndy has swept Grand Valley in each of its past two meetings. The Great Lakes Center will be active all day again tomorrow as the slate of the crossover will come to a conclusion.