Oct. 31, 2003

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - A festive crowd on Halloween night wasn't able to propel the Lewis women's volleyball team to victory in its match against Indianapolis. The Greyhounds (22-10, 10-3 Great Lakes Valley Conference) utilized a balanced attack that saw four hitters with at least 12 kills and beat the Flyers 34-32, 30-25, 30-23.

Lewis (14-10, 6-6 GLVC) played strongly in the first two games, before Indianapolis took control in game 3. Game 1 saw seven lead changes after Indianapolis broke a 12-all tie, and Lewis led 20-14 in game 2 prior to a late Greyhound charge.

The Flyers held a match-point at 31-30 in game 1, but a setter dump by Indianapolis' Deanna McClure tied the game. Shaun McAllister then aced Lewis' Katie Gilman for game point several plays later.

Gilman began game 2 as she had game 1, blocking nearly every Indianapolis attack. Gilman had three blocks and an ace in Lewis' first five points of game 1 and followed that with three straight blocks in game 2 that brought Lewis from a 3-5 deficit to a 6-5 lead.

A senior middle blocker, Gilman tallied the first triple double of her career two nights ago. She duplicated the feat against the Greyhounds with 10 kills, 14 digs and 10 blocks. She had a hand in 10 of Lewis' 12 team blocks on the evening.

Fellow middle Charisse Steckling provided the only other consistent offensive punch for the Flyers. Steckling posted a team-high 11 kills and hit .333 in the loss.

Indianapolis staked a 17-11 lead in game 3 and coasted into its victory. The Greyhounds hit .425 in the final game after struggling to .177 and .140 marks in the first two games, respectively.

Three Greyhound hitters--Emily Huey, Whitney Boling and McAllister-amassed a match-high 13 kills each. In addition, Lynne Ross chipped in 12 kills and McClure passed out 53 assists in just three games.

The Flyers have taken a tumble in the GLVC standings over the past two weeks. Since being tied for third overall with Indianapolis on Oct. 11, the Flyers have lost four of their last five GLVC matches and dropped to seventh, one-half game ahead of Missouri-St. Louis for eighth.

Lewis will look to get back on track Saturday afternoon as it hosts Saint Joseph's (7-22, 3-10 GLVC) at 2 p.m.