Volleyball wins one on the road
The University of Indianapolis volleyball team added two victories to their win total over the weekend, claiming matches against both the Maryville University Saints and the University of Missouri-St. Louis Tritons 3-1 and 3-2, respectively.
The Greyhounds wrapped up their road trip weekend with a comeback victory over the Tritons on Sunday, Nov. 3.
After trailing 2-0 in the match and facing defeat, the Greyhounds rallied for three-straight set victories, winning after five sets. Each set proved to be a battle for the Greyhounds, as they played to close victories by set scores of 25-23, 25-22, 25-23, 25-14, and 15-10.
The Greyhounds were led in the victory by senior outside hitter Kenzie Bruggeman, who finished with 21 kills, two aces and four blocks. Defensively, junior defensive specialist Kimberly Trojan led the way for UIndy with 30 digs, her highest ever in that category as a Greyhound.
In their first match on Saturday, Nov. 2, the Greyhounds bounced back from an early 1-0 set deficit, to claim three-straight sets to the victory.
The first set was a close battle for the Greyhounds, who lost 26-24. The next two sets, however, were won by the Greyhounds in dominant fashion, winning 25-13 in the second and 25-7 in the third. The final set was much closer for the team than the previous two, but the Greyhounds held on for the 25-20 win.
Senior middle blocker Brittany Anglemyer led the way for the Greyhounds in their victory, finishing with 15 kills on 23 swings. Anglemyer finished the match with a .652 attack percentage, which proved to be her strongest performance in that category for the season. On the defensive side, Trojan finished with 19 digs in helping the Greyhounds to victory.
The Greyhounds also competed the previous weekend at the Great Lakes Valley Conference/Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Crossover Tournament Oct. 25-26. Despite their one loss, the Greyhounds brought home two victories from the tournament.
Overall, the GLVC won the Crossover for the fourth year in a row, following a tie-breaker that was determined by which conference won the most individual sets, after both conferences tied at 24 matches apiece. The GLVC finished with 89 sets, compared to the GLIAC’s 84.
Head Volleyball Coach Jason Reed said he enjoyed being able to work with other GLVC coaches in the tournament.
“Competing in tournaments like those are exciting because usually we are opposing those teams, but instead we’re working together, and us coaches get together to help each other to win,” Reed said.
On Oct. 26, the Greyhounds wrapped up their last match in the tournament with a loss against the Hillsdale College Chargers 3-1, after going 2-0 prior to the match that weekend.
It was a tough match for the Greyhounds, as Hillsdale was able to jump out to a 2-0 set lead on UIndy. Ultimately, the Hounds fell short after winning the next set, by allowing the Chargers to win the fourth set and claim the match overall.
Reed said that problems in two key areas led to the Greyhounds’ lone loss of the tournament.
“Passing broke down in the last match, and serving. Gaining consistency in both passing and serving is what will help us toward continued success,” Reed said.
Earlier that day, the Greyhounds added their second victory of the weekend, claiming a straight-set win over the top-25 ranked Ferris State University Bulldogs.
After claiming victories in the first two sets, the Greyhounds survived the third by overcoming a back-and-forth battle with the Bulldogs that resulted in a 31-29 victory. The Greyhounds held strong in the final set, facing a set point four different times, but scored the last three points to claim the match overall. Bruggeman had a statistically successful match with 11 kills and one ace, which helped the Hounds to victory.
“The feeling after the second match was unbelievable,” she said. “We played like a team all three sets, and everyone was a part of that win. It felt so good to finally piece everything together and show how we can really play.”
The day prior, the Greyhounds opened up the Crossover with a match against the GLIAC representative Wayne State University Warriors and won in a straight-set victory.
The Greyhounds return this Saturday, Nov. 9, when they host the Bulldogs of Truman State University. The match against the Bulldogs will begin at 3 p.m.
