Nov. 15, 2007

Box Score

ALLENDALE, Mich. - The No. 17 Flyers rallied from an 0-2 deficit to defeat the No. 15 Ashland Eagles 3-2 (21-30, 24-30, 30-27, 30-26, 15-10) in first round of the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Thursday afternoon.

Lewis was out-blocked by Ashland 10-2 in the first two games as the Flyers struggled with the taller Eagles. However the Flyers were able to make adjustments and make certain their season wouldn't come to an end in the opening round.

"We just started feeding Kim (Richards) because they weren't blocking as well there," Head Coach Lorelee Smith said regarding what changes her coaching staff made after the second game. "Once they adjusted to Kim it opened up our outsides."

The Flyers also had to contend with Ashland's Mary Kate Glowe who finished with a match-high 24 kills. Smith praised senior Sylvia Ciezak (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook)'s contributions on Glowe.

"Sylvia came in the third game at right side and helped slow Glowe down," Smith explained.

After winning the third game the Flyers trailed 22-18 in game four and it looked like the Eagles may finish the match off. But the Flyers responded with a 9-2 run to take a 27-24 lead.

"Three amazing digs in a row by Lauren Hatter on Glowe really boosted our energy in that fourth game," Smith said. "Not all of them ended up in points but they got our team up and our squad really thrives on that."

The run was also highlighted by two kills by sophomore Stephanie Sagat that fell just within the end line.

Energy by everyone was a key in the comeback according to Smith.

"Our bench was amazing," Smith said. "I remember one chant of LU when we were down that picked up our energy. That really helps on the court more than you might imagine."

In the fifth game it was senior Andrea Morrone putting the match away. With the Flyers trailing 3-2 Morrone recorded two kills and an ace to help Lewis grab a 7-3 lead. After the Eagles had advanced within one point at 9-8 a powerful kill by freshman Lauren Seliga pushed the lead to 12-8 and forced Ashland to call a timeout and look for answers.

Lewis won the match when a serve by Ashland's Marina Santos failed to make it over the net. It gave the Flyers their 15th point and the heart stopping victory.

Sagat recorded 17 kills, to bring her season total to 470. Her total breaks the Lewis single-season rally scoring era record for kills in a season, besting Katie Gilman's 466 in 2002.

Richards recorded a team-high 20 kills, the second best single-match total of her career.

"Kim was so good today," Smith said. "They really couldn't stop her."

Freshman Ashlee Lindish notched a team-high 22 digs.

"Ashlee just kept on digging no matter what," Smith said.

Morrone finished with 56 assists, 19 digs and eight kills.

Seliga (17) and Hatter (14) also recorded double-digit digs.

Sophomore Sara deBuhr was the third Flyer to record double-digit kills with 12. She also added five assisted blocks.

The victory marks the second time in three matches the Flyers rallied after dropping the first two games. On Saturday in the Great Lakes Valley Conference semifinals, the Flyers did the same against Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

The Flyers improved to 31-3, the most single-season victories since 1988. Ashland finishes their season with a 26-6 record.

The Flyers will play Indianapolis on Friday at 4 p.m. CT. The Greyhounds defeated Hillsdale 3-1 in the first round. Lewis has swept the previous two meetings with the Greyhounds, including a victory on Sunday in the GLVC Championship match.