Volleyball wins regionals
The University of Indianapolis volleyball team earned the GLVC Championship title and a trip to the NCAA Division II “Elite Eight” after beating rival Lewis University twice.
The ‘Hounds came off of a Great Lakes Valley Conference championship victory against Lewis coming into the tournament.
“The girls stepped up this weekend and they deserved it,” said head coach Jody Butera. “We’re going to the ‘Elite Eight’ and it feels wonderful.”
UIndy dominated Lewis in the regional final winning in three straight sets at Ruth Lilly Fitness Center, going 25-16, 25-21, 25-13 on Nov. 21. The Greyhounds would have help from Lewis as 26 of UIndy’s 75 points in the match were unforced errors by the Flyers.
“The game we lost to Lewis in the season really awakened our team. For us to turn the table against them is great,” said Athletic Director Sue Willey. “It is a great rivalry, and UIndy has been the better team the last two weekends.”
The Flyers are a team that only averages 18 errors per match. The ‘Hounds had 39 kills in the match, led by junior outside hitter Lyndsay Callahan. Junior setter Cheneta Morrison set up her teammates throughout the game with 27 assists and 8 kills.
“When you want something that bad and you play with heart and intensity, you’re going to come out on top.” Butera said.
Before the ‘Hounds got the opportunity to play Lewis, the team beat Hillsdale in a come-from-behind fashion. It took five sets for the Greyhounds to beat the Chargers, going 25-27, 25-18, 17-25, 25-16, 15-8.
“If you look at the tournament, Hillsdale was more of a championship caliber match going five sets,” Willey said.
There were 16 ties and seven lead changes in the first set alone. Morrison had a triple-double with 55 assists, 15 digs and 10 kills. It was the first triple double in over six years for the University of Indianapolis. Sophomore middle hitter Courtney Anglemeyer hit .400 and had 15 kills and three blocks in the victory.
“It feels great, we just played really well, and we don’t know how to lose,” Anglemeyer said. “We just have to keep working on what we need to improve on and beat the next team that is up.”
The Greyhounds got the tournament started off against the Michigan Technical University Huskies in another three straight set victory. The ‘Hounds went 25-20, 25-19, 25-20 to garner the win. GLVC Freshman of the Year Kristina Kerrigan led all players with 13 kills and 30 attack attempts. Freshman libero Amy Oldenburg set the defensive pace with 28 digs.
The NCAA Division II “Elite Eight” will run from Dec. 3-5. The ‘Hounds (35-1) will face the two-time nationa l champion Concordia-St. Paul University (34-0), on Dec. 3. The location of the game was unannounced as of The Reflector’s press time.
