INDIANAPOLIS—Freshman outside hitter Abby Bednar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) came off the bench to slam down a career-high 20 kills as University of Southern Indiana Volleyball rallied from a two-set deficit to earn a 17-25, 24-26, 25-23, 25-18, 15-13 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory over host University of Indianapolis Tuesday night.
After being held to just nine kills and eight attacking errors in an eight-point opening-set loss and seeing a 24-22 lead in the second-set turn into a two-point loss, the Screaming Eagles found themselves trailing by three in the third set before Bednar went off for three consecutive kills during an 8-1 run that put USI up 17-13.
The Eagles (11-4, 5-2 GLVC) found themselves in the same situation late in the third set that they were in the second as they held a 24-22 advantage. UIndy (8-8, 4-3 GLVC) got a point on an attacking error by Bednar to get to within 24-23, but Bednar quickly atoned for the miscue in the next rally as she slammed the door on the Greyhounds with a kill to cut USI’s deficit to just one set.
The Hounds (8-8, 4-3 GLVC) looked as if they would close the door on the Eagles’ rally in the fourth frame as they jumped out to a commanding 13-7 advantage, but a 6-0 run that featured a pair of Bednar kills tied the score and gave USI life.
UIndy responded with two straight points to retake the lead, but a 4-0 run that ended with two more Bednar kills flipped the two-point gap into USI’s favor. Bednar racked up seven kills in the fourth set as USI rolled to a seven-point win to even the contest at two sets apiece.
Bednar and sophomore right side hitter Katherine Koch (Belleville, Illinois) each had four kills in the fifth set as USI jumped out to a commanding 10-4 advantage. The Eagles led 12-6 and 14-10, but UIndy rallied to put pressure on the Eagles before a service error ended the late surge, giving USI the two-point win in the deciding frame.
Koch aided the Eagles with a career-high tying 18 kills to go along with a .364 attacking percentage and 16 digs, while senior middle blocker Sidney Hegg(Menasha, Wisconsin) chipped in 12 kills, a .458 attacking percentage and seven blocks.
Junior middle hitter Taylor Litteken (Foristell, Missouri) had nine kills and six blocks, while senior setter Casey Cepicky (St. Louis, Missouri) finished with 49 assists, four kills, two aces, 10 digs and four blocks.
Senior libero Callie Gubera (Thorntown, Indiana) recorded a match-high tying 20 digs, while sophomore outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) finished with 10 digs.
USI returns to action Friday at 7 p.m. when it travels to Kansas City, Missouri, to take on Rockhurst University. The Hawks (9-7, 4-3 GLVC) are coming off a three-set road loss to Lindenwood University Tuesday night.
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