ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. – The fifth ranked Lewis women's volleyball team rallied for a five set win at Molloy on Saturday for its fourth straight win. The Flyers improved to 10-1 while the Lions fell to 8-3.
Lewis hit .252 in the match recording 72 kills against 21 errors in 202 chances. They had four players reach double figures in kills led by
Megan Schlechte (Strasburg, Ill./Stewardson-Strasburg) with a career-high 21.
Alexandra Preuss (Elmhurst, Ill./York) added 18 kills while
Colleen Wilhelm (Euclid, Ohio/Lake Catholic) and
Ava Venema (Westmont, Ill./Timothy Christian) added 15 and 13 kills respectively.
Mikah Freppon (Cold Spring, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) handed out 55 assists and
Jamie Poppen (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway West) had a career-high 27 digs. The Flyers also recorded 11 total blocks in the contest with Venema leading the way with six total blocks (three solo, three assisted).
Lewis' defense held Molloy to a .124 hitting percentage with 52 kills against 26 errors in 210 chances. Kacey Affrunti led the Lions with 13 kills while Sophia Smith had 39 assists and Jessica Fischetti finished with 25 digs.
The Flyers dropped a back-and-forth opening set in extra time 30-28. Molloy led 24-21 but Lewis ran off three in a row to even the set. The two sides exchanged points before the Flyers took leads at 27-26 and 28-27 but were unable to close the set out as the Lions scored the final three points to win the stanza.
Lewis used a 13-3 run to break a 6-6 tie to take control of set two on its way to a 25-13 win to even the match at a set apiece. Schlechte recorded seven of the Flyers 16 kills in the frame.
Lewis led 20-17 in the middle set but Molloy ended the stanza on an 8-2 run to win 25-22 to take the 2-1 lead in the match.
The Flyers led for a majority of the fourth set using an 8-3 run to build a six-point lead midway through. The Lions wouldn't get closer than five points the rest of the set as Lewis went onto win 25-15 to force a fifth and deciding set.
The final set was all Flyers as they raced out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back on its way to the 15-7 victory to seal the match. Schlechte and Preuss had three kills apiece in the final stanza.
Lewis opens the home portion of its schedule on Friday (Sept. 27) hosting Truman State at 6 p.m., at Neil Carey Arena. It'll also be the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener for both teams.
