Nov. 14, 2009

Box Score

Box Score in PDF Format

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - No. 11 Lewis topped Rockhurst 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 28-26, 25-19) in the semifinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament on Saturday night at Neil Carey Arena.

Sophomore Colleen Mitros (Mokena, Ill./Providence) led Lewis with 13 kills while hitting .522. Senior Stephanie Sagat (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South) had 11 kills. Senior middle hitter Sara deBuhr (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) finished a kill short of the rare kill-block double-double. She totaled 13 blocks (3 solo) and nine kills. In the match deBuhr became Lewis' career leader in block assists with 309. The next record in deBuhr's sights is the total block mark. deBuhr is 13 total blocks behind Katie Gilman's career record of 394.

Senior Lauren Seliga (St. Louis, Mo./Nerinx) had eight kills and 19 digs. She recorded her 1,000th career dig in the match. Senior libero Ashlee Lindish (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) totaled 17 digs.

Lewis got out of the gates quickly against the Hawks, claiming the first set, 25-14. Leading 10-6, the Flyers racked up eight straight points to blow open the set. deBuhr had a kill and three blocks in the decisive run. She finished the first set with three kills and four blocks.

Rockhurst battled back in the second set, evening the match at 1-1 with a 25-23 decision. The Hawks put together a quick 4-0 run to take a 12-9 lead and kept the Flyers at bay the rest of the way. Maggie McGovern pounded down three kills in the turning point of the match and finished the set with eight kills, including the kill on set point that squelched a late 3-0 Lewis run.

In a thrilling third set, Rockhurst seemingly grabbed control of the set late but could not close the door on the Flyers. The Hawks led 23-20 following a kill by Emily Levy, but a kill by Mitros and back-to-back ball handling errors knotted score at 23-23. The teams traded points until consecutive kills by senior Kim Richards (Evergreen Park, Ill./Mother McAuley), and senior Rachel Ruedi (Mahomet, Ill./Mahomet Seymour) gave the Flyers the 28-26 decision. Mitros had six kills in the set.

The Flyers fell behind in the fourth and final set 7-2, but methodically fought back and used a 10-4 run to seize control of the match at 20-14. Lewis closed out the match on a block by Ruedi and deBuhr.

"It was really hard for Rockhurst to put a ball behind Sara's block and make it land without Lauren digging it," head coach Lorelee Smith said. "Tonight I thought the team did a fantastic job of making adjustments without hesitation."

Maggie McGovern led Rockhurst with 14 kills. Lewis held a 16-9 edge in blocks while out-hitting Rockhurst .205 to .091.

Rockhurst falls to 21-14. Lewis is now 30-3 and plays No. 9 Indianapolis at 1 p.m. for the GLVC Championship. A win would give Lewis their fourth straight GLVC Championship. The Flyers' 30th victory gives them three straight seasons of 30 wins, a first in program history since Lewis joined Division II in 1981.