INDIANAPOLIS – The UIndy volleyball team (16-8, 9-3 GLVC) swept William Jewell on Saturday afternoon before the program honored seniors Lauren Koopman and Katie Voelz. The four-year Greyhounds each recorded nine kills, while combining to hit .455 against the Cardinals.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hounds led most of the opening set before fending off a late Cardinal run. Katie Furlong and Taylor Jacquay led the attack for UIndy, combining for 12 kills. Koopman and Voelz each had three kills in the first frame.
 
Alyssa Spears had 19 of her program-best 52 assists – in three sets – in the second game, while Jacquay hit .444 in the extra-point win for the Hounds. The set saw 14 tie scores and seven lead changes.
 
Koopman had four kills on as many attempts in the deciding frame, with Furlong also recording four. Olivia Martin scooped up 12 digs in the third, finishing with 29 in the win to tie the program record in three sets.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Koopman's nine kills is the most the senior has tallied in a match since September 11 against Maryville. Her .667 hitting percentage is the highest in a single contest during her career when she recorded at least nine kills.
 
Voelz attacked at a .333 clip in the win on Saturday, her second time in the past four matches. The senior also picked up three digs and blocked two attacks against William Jewell.
 
Furlong finished with a match-high 17 kills against the Cardinals, concluding the weekend averaging 5.63 per set in two victories. Jacquay also added 13 more kills to her weekend total after 19 against No. 14 Rockhurst on Friday, averaging 4.00 per frame herself.
 
HOUND BYTES
Katie Voelz on Lauren Koopman
"We've been through a lot together over the last four years. I'm going to miss her goofiness and her care-free attitude."
 
On her time at UIndy
"I'm going to miss the family aspect of this team and having so much fun all the time. The program really has grown a lot. I think the biggest change is the relationships between not only the girls with each other, but with the coaches."
 
Mary Grace Ertel on Koop
"She is one of the most selfless players I've ever played with. She does whatever the team needs her to do and she really puts the team as a whole before herself."
 
On the seniors
"We owe a lot to Katie and Koop because a lot has changed drastically since I was a freshman, and a major part of that has been their leadership of helping create this environment that we're in now."
 
Jena Davis on Katie
"I've never met anybody who loves their school as much as Katie does. She knows UIndy better than anyone. She definitely plays a leadership role on our team, no matter if we're up or down by 10."
 
On Koop
"If you're having a bad day, she will just make it better. She has had a tough journey since she has been here, but she's never given up."
 
Assistant coach Kourtney Crawford on the seniors
"Katie and Koop are the happiest people I've met in my entire life no matter the situation. It's refreshing if we have a bad practice or match, they always have something positive to say.
 
"I've never seen Koop get mad in my two years until we lost at Bellarmine and she just went off. She always has something goofy to say, but that day she just looked at everybody and said, 'This is not okay. Us playing like this is not okay. We need to turn this around and be better.' It coming from Koop, everyone took it to heart.
 
"Katie…that girl is going to change the world someday. I don't know how or what, but you'll her name on TV.
 
"Katie and Koop will be greatly missed next year. They bring something to this team that I don't think we can put into words. It's just a presence."
 
UP NEXT
The Hounds will look to finish the home portion of their conference season with a perfect 9-0 record this coming Tuesday against Missouri-St. Louis. After the Tritons, UIndy will finish the regular season with five straight road contests.