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PDF BoxEAST PEORIA, Ill. – No. 23 Lewis women's volleyball defeated Indianapolis 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-23) to win the 2015 Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship on Sunday (Nov. 22) at the East Side Centre. It is Lewis' first conference title since 2010.
Neither team could pull away in the first set until the serving of freshman
Elizabeth Hyland (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) spurred a 4-0 run to put the Flyers up 13-10. Lewis finished the set out from there.
In the second, the Flyers were up 15-14 when they earned some breathing room thanks to four consecutive points. Seniors
Alexis Davito (Crest Hill, Ill./Lockport) and
Morgan Cebula (Stevens Point, Wis./Stevens Point Area) each had kills in the push. Lewis finished the second set the same way they did the first, with a kill by sophomore
Aly Schneider (Granger, Ind./Penn) for point 25.
The third was more of the same, with back-and-forth volleyball and only a small Lewis run providing enough breathing room to pull out the win. This time it was Lewis jumping out to a 7-2 lead only to see Indianapolis make it a 9-8 game. However the Flyers never gave up the lead. The Greyhounds turned away two match points before Schneider won her third straight set with a kill to give the Flyers the title.
The win gives Lewis their ninth GLVC Championship. It is the most in league history, passing former GLVC member IPFW's eight titles.
Lewis out-hit Indianapolis .278 to .243. Schneider led Lewis with 13 kills on a .435 attack percentage. Hyland added 10 kills and nine digs. Davito finished with eight kills and two aces.
"The ladies did an amazing job of managing their adrenaline and staying true to their fun spirits," Lewis head coach
Lorelee Smith. "We've learned how to play with love for both the sport and for one another."
Indianapolis finishes their season 17-17 with the loss. Lewis improves to 30-4, giving Lewis their first 30-win season since 2009. The Flyers now have seven 30-win seasons as a NCAA Division II program.
The win also gives Lewis the GLVC's automatic berth in the NCAA Midwest Regional. The Flyers will find out their seed and first opponent on Monday (Nov. 23) at 6:30 p.m. CT. Fans can watch the selection show at this
link.