The Online Reflector

The No. 9 ranked University of Indianapolis volleyball team extended their winning-streak to eight on Sept. 22, defeating the Bellarmine University Knights 3-0  at Knights Hall.

In the first set, UIndy trailed early 9-7, but was able to come back and hold on  to win the set 25-19.

In the second set, UIndy held the lead early with a 9-6 advantage. Bellarmine however, came back and took the lead 14-13.  A kill and two consecutive aces by junior middle blocker Brittany Anglemyer led UIndy back to take the lead 16-14.

The Knights came back once again however, and earned the set point at 24-23. Bellarmine failed to make the next serve however, and UIndy had a chance to capitalize but failed to do so as well, missing the next serve.

Bellarmine had another chance at a set point with the score at 25-24, but failed again to finish. The Knights, after committing three consecutive attack errors, opened the opportunity for UIndy to win the set 27-25.

In the final set of the match, UIndy started off with a slight lead 10-8. UIndy pulled away after another missed serve by Bellarmine, and went on a 12-1 run. The Greyhounds led 22-9, and following the ninth service error committed by Bellarmine, UIndy closed out the set and the match winning 25-16.

The Greyhounds won their road opener of the Great Lakes Valley Conference  portion of the season, defeating   the McKendree University Bearcats on Sept. 21, 3-1.

The Greyhounds were victorious in their first two sets, winning 25-23 in the first and 25-22 in the second. However McKendree won the third 21-25. UIndy finished the match however, with a 25-19 victory in the fourth set.

UIndy defeated the Saint Joseph’s Pumas 3-0 on Sept. 18. This brought the Greyhounds to their fifth win at home, making them undefeated at home this season.

Senior outside hitter Kristina Kerrigan had 17 kills, making her the second in all-time career kills at UIndy.

Kerrigan spoke of the team’s advancements and what that would do to their game.

“We’re a top team now,” Kerrigan said. “This means everyone is going to bring their A-game when they play us. So do we.”

Alongside Kerrigan, Anglemyer had eight kills during the game plus two aces, two blocks and three digs. She had the second-most kills during the game, after Kerrigan.

Together, sophomore setter Meghan Binkerd and freshman setter Karsey King made 44 assists throughout the game. Binkerd led with 36 assists, and King added eight more after she was subbed in.

Although the Pumas stayed two points ahead during the beginning of the first match, the Greyhounds came back and eventually led by five, the result of an error made by the Pumas.

Kerrigan made the final kill, and UIndy won the match 25-14.

During the next match, the Greyhounds started scoring early and took a two-point lead from the Pumas. With the Greyhounds leading 8-4, the Pumas took a timeout. Kerrigan, with freshman middle blocker Payton Schultz, executed kill after kill, again ending the match at 25-14.

Following a successful start, the Greyhounds maintained the lead by racking up points, scoring the first three points and eventually gaining a six-point lead.  An ace by sophomore outside hitter Kimberly Trojan and a kill by freshman middle blocker Hannah Bauer at the end helped the Greyhounds win the match 25-23 and the game overall 3-0.

On Sept. 15, the Greyhounds played Lewis University, defeating the Flyers 3-0.

According to Kerrigan, the girls were very aggressive with their serves.

“We worked on aggressive serving [during practice], taking other people out of their game,” Kerrigan said.

Anglemyer finished with 11 kills, a career-high. Kerrigan also finished the game with 17 kills, leading the match with the most kills.

Freshman libero/defensive specialist Shelby Holland had 10 digs, a career-high, and three aces. Senior libero/defensive specialist Amy Oldenburg also finished with a high number of digs, racking up a total of 13.

When the first match started, the Flyers took a six-point lead. The Greyhounds came back, however, led by back-to-back kills from Anglemyer.

Binkerd saved a rogue ball and directed it back towards the court, where Anglemyer made another kill against Lewis. Lewis took a timeout, but only after the Greyhounds had gained the lead.

The Greyhounds lost the lead after the timeout but came back and won the match 25-19.

The Greyhounds obtained the lead early in the second match. The Flyers tied the score three times but failed to gain the lead, and the Greyhounds won 25-21.

Hoping to sweep the Flyers in all three matches and win the game, the Greyhounds gained an early lead with a score of 13-4, finishing out the match on top, 25-11.

Head Volleyball Coach Jody Rogers said what helps her team come out victorious, is teamwork.

“If they play collectively as a team, and they’re talking and communicating and executing, a ‘W’ is about to come,” Rogers said. “If they don’t do those little intangible things, that is when they falter and lose it.”

The Greyhounds next match will be at home on Sept. 28 at 3 p.m. against Wittenberg University.