Oct. 20, 2006

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - An inspired rally late in game four pushed the Lewis Flyers to a thrilling 30-23, 30-26, 21-30, 32-30 win over the Northern Kentucky Norse, Friday evening in a crucial conference showdown before a boisterous crowd at Neil Carey Arena.

The Flyers improved to 19-5 (13-2), while the Norse dropped to 16-11 (8-5).

After winning the first two games of the match, the Flyers slipped in game three and fell behind late in game four. Northern Kentucky held a 27-23 lead, and the match appeared to be headed for a fifth game.

But the Flyers rallied to take control of the game. Led by two kills from Theresa Nugent, the Flyers used a 4-0 spurt to knot the game 27-27. The game went back-and-forth for six more exchanges, resulting in a 30-30 tie before a Sara deBuhr kill gave the Flyers a 31-30 advantage. Lauren Hatter sent a solid serve over on the next ball and the Norse attack went into the net.

Nugent finished with a team-high 14 kills, hitting .355, and Stephanie Sagat hit a team-best .444 with 12 kills. Charisee Steckling hit .321 with 11 kills and deBuhr hit .318 with 10 kills and five assisted blocks.

Sarah McKinney had seven kills and Lindsay Grim added five, with a .444 hitting effort. Hatter's 20 digs led all players, and Andrea Morrone totaled 47 assists.

Kristina Eisenmenger (18) and Tristen Dye (17) led the Norse in kills.

The Flyers limited the conference's top serving team to eight aces, while serving seven of their own. Lewis hit an efficient .312 for the match, compared to .303 by Northern Kentucky.

The Flyers celebrated Senior Night during the match, honoring seniors Nugent, Steckling, McKinney and Grim between games two and three.

The Flyers look for win No. 20 on Saturday when they host Bellarmine at 1:00 p.m.