INDIANAPOLIS – It surely was a senior celebration on Saturday afternoon in Ruth Lilly Fitness Center, as the UIndy volleyball team (20-8, 11-4 GLVC) wrapped up its regular season with a four-set victory over Drury (17-15, 11-4 GLVC).
 
Jena Davis and Alyssa Spears each eclipsed milestones, while Julia Kruzan recorded 13 kills on .423 hitting in the win. Fellow senior Mary Grace Ertel, who medically retired a season ago, aced the ceremonial first serve prior to the match.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Greyhounds got off to a hot start against the Panthers attacking at a .381 clip to win the opening frame. It was Elizabeth Eads and Katie Furlong doing the honors for UIndy, each tallying five kills in the set, while Taylor Jacquay joined Kruzan with three apiece.
 
UIndy did a great job closing the block in the second, giving Davis and Gillian Santana the opportunity for seven scoops on the back line. Jacquay led the way on the attack with four kills for UIndy, including the set-clinching putaway.
 
After Drury forced a fourth set with six blocks in the third frame, the Greyhounds were determined to finish off the visitors. UIndy held Drury to just .100 hitting in the final set, thanks in part to totaling blocks at the net. Eads was in on three stops, while MaKenna Barnhart recorded eight digs in the frame to give the seniors a proper send off.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-Four Greyhounds finished the night with double-figure kills, as Furlong led all players with 18.
-Davis surpassed 1,000 career digs in the second set, totaling 12 in the win.
-Spears called, and then raised her teammate in the third set when the Heltonville, Ind., native reached 3,000 career assists at UIndy
-After splitting time with Emma Jones upon her return from injury, Kruzan held the right-side duties all day on Saturday, adding three blocks to her 13 kills
-Santana finished with 16 digs against Drury, surpassing 300 to become the second Greyhound rookie to do so this season
 
MORE NOTES
It is UIndy's first 20-win season since 2013 … Barnhart and Santana become the first UIndy freshmen duo to each record 300 digs in a season for the first time since at least 2006 … Drury's Makina Wratten led the Panthers with 14 kills … the 21 digs from Barnhart is the first time she has reached that mark since October 19 … in doing so, Barnhart now has 392 digs this season, good for fifth-most by a freshman in UIndy history … Furlong now has 985 career kills, just six shy of 14th-highest ever by a Greyhound.
 
UP NEXT
UIndy will battle Drury once again next Friday to begin the 2019 GLVC Championship Tournament. The Greyhounds and Panthers will be the third match of the day at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Ill., and will begin at 6:30 p.m. The winner will face either top-seeded Rockhurst or eighth-seeded Missouri S&T.