INDIANAPOLIS – Katie Furlong and the UIndy volleyball team (13-4, 5-2 GLVC) won its third straight match on Saturday, downing the visiting Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars (12-7, 4-3 GLVC) in comeback fashion at Ruth Lilly Fitness Center.
 
After grabbing the first set, the Greyhounds rattled off wins in the fourth and fifth frames to defeat the 2018 NCAA tournament qualifier.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Taylor Jacquay picked up where she left off on Friday night, recording five kills on .500 hitting to give UIndy the early 1-0 advantage. MaKenna Barnhart and Gillian Santana held down the back line in the 25-17 win, combining for 10 digs.
 
Illinois Springfield ran away with the next two frames, including a whopping 25-12 win in the second. The Prairie Stars attacked at a .640 clip in the second set, while limiting the UIndy offense to just .040 hitting in the third game.
 
Just like usual, the Greyhounds would not go without a fight on their home floor. The team clicked in the fourth, with UIndy digging nearly half of Illinois Springfield's attacks. After struggling the second and third sets, Jacquay returned to form in the fourth with five more kills, while Furlong added four.
 
UIndy led most of the fifth, albeit a narrow advantage. After Furlong opened the set with four more kills, Jacquay finished off the visitors with three of her own to give the Greyhounds a 15-13 win.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-Furlong's 19 kills is the most for the junior since Gannon on September 14
-Alyssa Spears dished out 54 assists for the second straight match, racking up 154 (11.9/set) in three contests this week
-Saturday marks the first time since September 20 the Greyhounds recorded more service aces (7) than errors (4)
-Elizabeth Eads, who committed five errors on the serve last night against Lewis, led the way with three service aces against Illinois Springfield
-Kyra Simmons tallied a solo block on Saturday, giving her 10 stops over the last 13 sets
-Emma Jones scored another eight kills on Saturday, totaling 29 over three matches this week
 
MORE NOTES
Illinois Springfield's Brianna Bush knocked down 19 kills, while hitting .410 on the outside … Saturday marked the first home win over the Prairie Stars since 2015, when Kate Bontrager led the Greyhounds with 14 kills in the four-set win … UIndy has now defeated a team twice this season when winning the opening frame, but surrendering the next two sets before earning the victory … The rookie Santana has now scooped up double-figure digs in four straight contests.
 
UP NEXT
UIndy awaits the Midwest Regional Crossover matchups, which will be announced later tonight. The Greyhounds will compete in three matches next weekend at The Academy Volleyball in Indianapolis against teams from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC).