UIndy Athletics

WILLIAMSVILLE, Ill. – The top-seeded UIndy volleyball team took down the five-seed Drury Panthers, 3-1, in the GLVC Tournament semifinals Friday afternoon. After dropping the opening set, 25-18, the Greyhounds stormed back with set wins of 25-13, 25-18 and 25-21 to secure their first GLVC finals appearance since 2015.

UP NEXT
UIndy awaits to winner of the other semifinal later this evening. The Hounds will battle either Rockhurst or UMSL on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET with the conference championship on the line.

INS & OUTS
After falling to these same Panthers in three sets just a week earlier, the Hounds once again found themselves in a 1-0 hole after one. UIndy flipped the script this week, however, out-hitting Drury .241-.095 over the final three sets to secure victory.
 
Up one set to nothing, Drury scored the first two points of the set No. 2, but the Greyhounds worked back to a 4-4 tie and then took control with a 7-0 run, including six straight service points from Makenzie Pflederer. Drury later cut the margin to 16-11, but the Greyhounds answered by winning seven of the next eight points, getting kills from Maddie Lynch, Pflederer and Allison Jansen along with a block by Lynch and Jansen to reach 23-12. After a Drury kill, the Greyhounds finished the set on a block and a kill by Maddie Berger for a 25-13 win.
 
After the teams traded points to 3-3, the Greyhounds moved ahead 5-3 on a block by Berger and Jansen and a Pflederer service ace, then stayed in front as kills by Lynch, Berger and Pflederer helped push the set to 13-8. Drury got back within 13-10, but the Greyhounds answered with consecutive blocks involving Berger, Jansen and Pflederer, and later used a Jansen kill, a Drury attack error and back-to-back Maddie Pennington aces to stretch the lead to 19-11. Lynch later delivered consecutive kills to make it 23-16 before Pflederer brought up set point at 24-18. The Greyhounds closed the third set 25-18 on a Drury attack error.
 
The Greyhounds trailed 13-11 in set No. 4 before Pflederer's kill sparked a massive 7-0 Greyhound run. Pflederer served the final six points of the stretch as Grace Portwood had two kills and Jansen was part of three blocks, making it 18-13 Hounds. Drury climbed back from 19-14 to tie the set at 19-19, but a service error gave the Greyhounds the next point before a Riley Laine-Portwood block, an Amaree Haralson ace and a Lynch kill pushed the lead to 23-19. Lynch finished the set and match with a kill from Haralson to give the Greyhounds a 25-21 win.
 
INSIDE THE BOX
- The newest member of UIndy 1,000-kill club, junior Maddie Lynch racked up 17 kills on 37 swings.
- Senior Makenzie Pflederer notched a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs.
- Senior middle Allison Jansen hit .368 and added eight blocks. She led the way in a 15-block performance from the team, good for a season best.
- Setters Amaree Haralson and Carly Fonda combined for 52 assists.
- Macy Bruton and Grace Portwood each surpassed 20 digs.