LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The sixth ranked Lewis women's volleyball squad suffered its second straight defeat falling at Bellarmine in straight sets on Saturday afternoon at Knights Hall in Louisville, Ky. The Flyers fall to 16-3, 5-2 GLVC while the Knights improve to 14-5, 5-2 GLVC.

Lewis was held to a .167 hitting percentage in the contest registering 38 kills against 16 errors in 132 total chances. Colleen Wilhelm (Euclid, Ohio/Lake Catholic) led the Flyers with 14 kills while Alexandra Preuss (Elmhurst, Ill./York) finished with eight and Ava Venema (Westmont, Ill./Timothy Christian) added seven. Haley Sobieralski (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) had 24 assists off the bench and Jamie Poppen (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway West) had 20 digs.

Lewis led by as many as six points in the opening frame but a 13-4 run by Bellarmine gave the Knights a 20-17 lead after an attack error by Megan Schlechte (Strasburg, Ill./Stewardson-Strasburg). The Flyers cut the deficit to 22-20 on a kill from Wilhelm but that was the closest they got as Bellarmine scored three of the last four points to win 25-21.

Lewis fell behind early in set two but came back to even the set at four. The Knights led 17-16 and then closed the set on an 8-2 run as they hit .312 in the frame.

The third set saw 16 ties and eight lead changes. The Flyers led 20-18 after a ball handling error on Kristen O'Toole. Bellarmine responded with a 5-1 run to grab a 23-21 lead after an attack error from Schlechte.

Lewis came right back though scoring three straight points and had a chance to extend the match but Preuss was called for a ball handling error which tied the score at 24. The Knights then scored the final two points to end the match.

The Flyers are back in action next Friday as they take part in the 12th Annual Midwest Region Crossover at The Volleyball Academy in Indianapolis. Opponents and times will be released once the pairings are finalized.