INDIANAPOLIS - Good teams win, great teams win championships. With a 30-26, 30-24, 30-26 sweep over No. 19 Indianapolis the No. 23 Lewis Flyers won their second straight and sixth overall Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship.
The victory came on the heels of a five game victory over No. 10 SIUE last night after the Flyers lost the first two games. With wins over SIUE and Indianapolis in the GLVC Tournament the Flyers were able to avenge their only two regular season conference losses when it mattered most.
"Ever since we started the girls have continued to elevate their play. They just keep playing harder and harder and just keep adjusting," head coach Lorelee Smith said. "I'm so happy for them."
The Flyers forced Indianapolis to call an early timeout after they jumped out to a 5-1 lead in game one thanks in part to two tip kills by sophomore Stephanie Sagat. But the Greyhounds eventually responded with an 8-1 run to take a 12-8 advantage. Lewis didn't stay down for long, scoring 14 of the next 20 points to take a 22-18 lead. Indianapolis would get within one point, but the Flyers eventually pulled away for the four-point victory. Sagat and sophomore Sara deBuhr both recorded six kills in the game.
Game two was again paced by the Flyers, forcing the Greyhounds to call a timeout after taking an 8-4 lead. Much like the first game, the Greyhounds rallied to an 11-10 advantage. With the score 21-20 in favor of the Flyers, Lewis went on a 6-1 run, with two powerful kills by both Sagat and deBuhr during the run, to take a six-point lead. The Flyers took the game on a perfect setter dump by senior Andrea Morrone for the final point.
Game three was back and forth till Lewis took the first three-point lead of the game at 22-19 on a bad set by Indianapolis' Beth Robbins. But the top seed Indianapolis would not go down easy, responding to tie the game at 23. The Flyers took the three-point lead right back at 26-23 when junior Justina Begemann recording a tip kill and assisting on a block with sophomore Kim Richards during a 3-0 run.
"When we put Justina in she did exactly what we asked her to do." Smith said. "She made some huge plays that just don't always show up in the box score."
The Flyers finished the Greyhounds off with two kills by Sagat to win the championship.
Sagat finished the match with a match-high 15 kills and 14 digs.
Morrone recorded 49 assists, 17 digs and four kills.
Defensively, Freshman Ashlee Lindish's 21 digs gave her 561 for the season and broke the single season digs Lewis record. Lindish topped junior Lauren Hatter's total of 550 digs in 2006.
Freshman Lauren Seliga had 16 digs and Hatter had 10.
The Flyers recorded key blocks throughout the match.
"Our middles (Richards and deBuhr) were phenomenal blocking today," Smith said. "They kept Indy from putting up their normal offensive numbers."
The stats show Smith was correct, as Indianapolis hit .116, below their season average of .254. Richards recorded four block assists and one solo. deBuhr added one solo and one assisted.
Despite the match on the campus of Indianapolis, Lewis had a strong showing of support from parents, students and fans. Chants of "LU" repeatedly echoed in the home of the Greyhounds
The Flyers improved to 30-3, their first 30 win season since 1988. It was also their 14th straight victory, second longest streak in school history.
The victory guarantees the Flyers a berth in the NCAA Regionals for the second straight season.
