ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The fifth ranked Lewis women's volleyball team swept past Truman State in the GLVC opener for both squads on Friday evening at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers (7-2, 1-0 GLVC) hit .240 for the match and were led by
Elizabeth Hyland (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) and
Caroline Stefanon (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) with 13 and 10 kills respectively.
The opening set went back and forth and was tied at 14 when Lewis took control with a 5-2 run. After a Bulldog (7-2, 0-1 GLVC) timeout, they cut the deficit to 19-18 after
Tori Foster (Munster, Ind./Munster) was blocked at the net by Ellie Kaat and Natalie Brimeyer. The Flyers were able to close out the set scoring six of the final eight points to win 25-20. Hyland, Foster and
Alexandra Preuss (Elmhurst, Ill./York) each had a kill in that final run.
The Flyers fell behind 2-1 to begin the second set but dominated after that going on a 10-0 run to build a nine-point cushion. That cushion grew to 15 points before Lewis settled for the 25-13 set win. The Flyers had 14 kills in the middle set and hit .433 in the frame while holding Truman to a negative .071 hitting percentage.
Lewis fell behind by three early in the third frame before responding with an 11-4 run to take the lead for good. The lead grew to seven points but the Bulldogs wouldn't go quietly scoring four straight points to cut the Flyer advantage to 24-21. Lewis finished off the victory on an attack error from Lauren Wacker to win 25-21.
Hyland and Stefanon were the lone Flyers in double figures while Preuss chipped in with six.
Abby Becker (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) dished out 26 assists. Hyland and
Ronni Katarzynski (Winfield, Ill./West Chicago) had 11 digs each. Lewis had seven total team blocks in the match with Stefanon accounting for five of them.
The Bulldogs hit only .029 (27 kills/24 errors/105 total attacks) and were led by Kaat with 11 kills. Savvy Hughes distributed 24 assists while Wacker had a match-high 17 digs.
The Flyers return to the court on Saturday hosting Quincy at 3 p.m.
