LEBANON, Ill. – The UIndy volleyball team (4-5, 0-1 GLVC) opened GLVC play Thursday night at McKendree with a four-set loss. The Greyhounds edged the Bearcats in the first frame, 26-24, but the home team rattled off three straight wins to send UIndy home 0-1 to begin conference competition.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UIndy scored eight consecutive points to lead 13-9 after trailing early in the first game, but held off a late run by McKendree due largely in part to a solo block by Katie Voelz. After holding a 24-21 advantage in the second set, UIndy surrendered five straight tallies to McKendree to even the match.
 
The Bearcats won the third frame, 25-19, but the fourth set proved to be another barn burner. Anna Fehribach used her 16^th kill to give the Greyhounds a 22-20 lead late, but the Bearcats went on the final run of the game to eventually prevail, 26-24.
 
In total, there were 26 tie scores throughout the match, including 10 in the fourth set. The lead changed hands 11 times in front of 242 fans at the Statham Sports Center.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-Fehribach paced the Greyhounds with a career-high 16 kills, while attacking at a .297 clip.  
 
-Transfer setters Alyssa Spears (25) and Alexis Waugh (21) shared the playing time again against McKendree, marking the eighth time this season the duo have each totaled at least 11 assists in a match. The 25 dimes is a season-high for Spears, while Waugh hit the 20-mark for the fourth time in 2017.
 
-Freshman libero Olivia Martin accumulated 24 digs against the Bearcats, marking a new career-high and the second time this season the Fort Wayne native has totaled 21 or more.
 
-Senior Teigan Flaws tallied 10 kills for the first time in her UIndy career.
 
HOUND BYTES
Coach Reed: "We lost a heartbreaker tonight. I don't know if there is a hitter in the country that can get that many kills in four sets. (Arela) Williams was pretty special tonight."
 
"We fought really hard tonight and showed a lot of character. We're still a few points away from winning these close matches. I'm still very confident in these girls. We're so close. We really need to win one of these close ones to prove to ourselves we can do it."
 
"Alyssa had a great match both offensively and defensively. She connected well with her hitters and was scrappy."

"Anna did a lot for us on offense and came up with a few kills at clutch times."
 
"Olivia played great tonight, as well, and really kept us in a lot of rallies. The scary part about Liv is she's still getting better and will only improve. [It's] crazy because she's already performing at an incredible clip now."
 
"The numbers won't show it, but Kailey Kleinert came up with some big hits down the stretch. She took some aggressive swings and scored a few really big points."
 
UP NEXT
UIndy continues GLVC play Saturday against Drury (8-1, 1-0 GLVC) from the Ruth Lilly Fitness Center. The Greyhounds welcome the Panthers to the Circle City after latter downed Missouri S&T in five sets Thursday night. The match is scheduled for 3 p.m.