ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's fifth ranked women's volleyball team hosts McKendree in its 2021 Spring Volleyball home opener this Saturday (Feb. 6) at 3 p.m. at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers enter Saturday's contest with a record of 2-0 overall and in the GLVC while McKendree plays its first match of the season on Friday (Feb. 5) at Illinois Springfield at 7 p.m.
Last Time Out – Lewis opened the season with back-to-back road wins last weekend as it rallied to defeat Southern Indiana in five sets last Friday and then swept UIndy on Saturday afternoon. Junior transfer
Amanda Greening (Metamora, Ill./Metamora) led the Flyers with 21 kills on the weekend reaching double figures in both matches. Senior
Ava Venema (Westmont, Ill./Timothy Christian) and sophomore
Juliana Van Loo (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs) added 18 kills each on the weekend while sophomore
Megan Schlechte (Strasburg, Ill./Stewardson-Strasburg) added 17 kills, senior
Caroline Stefanon (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) finished with 16 kills and freshman
Natalie Stefanski (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet West) had 12 kills.
On the defensive side, Venema led the front line with 12 total blocks and on the backline
Jamie Poppen (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway West) averaged 6.25 digs per set.
AVCA Poll – Lewis climbed nine spots in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Flyers are the highest ranked team from the GLVC in the poll and are joined by Rockhurst at No. 10 and Missouri-St. Louis is ranked 18th. Six teams were in the receiving votes category with Drury leading the way with 90 points, Quincy had 69 points, Indianapolis received 60 points, Southern Indiana had 28 points, Truman checked in with 13 points and Illinois Springfield received three points.
1,000 Dig Club – With her 50 digs last weekend Poppen became the 19th player in school history to reach 1,000 digs for their career. She currently sits at 1,039 and is four behind Maddie Seliga (2013-17) for 18th all-time.
Block Party – Stefanon needs 46 total blocks to surpass Aly Schneider for the most total blocks in school history in school history. She currently has 53 solo blocks and 372 block assists in her career.
About McKendree – The Bearcats return four key pieces from their 2019 team that finished the year with a 14-15 mark 7-8 in the GLVC. They finished in a four-way tie for ninth last season. Those pieces include 6'4" middle blocker Alexandria Muschong, opposite hitter Elle Russell, setter Gracie Marr and 6'1" middle blocker Hope Gramly
Muschong recorded 55 kills and a .342 hitting percentage during the 2019 season, and 30 total blocks. Russell was named to the Lindenwood Challenge and Ferris State Invitational all-tournament teams and led the Bearcats with 303 kills while recording 14 aces, 167 digs and 52 total blocks. Marr earned 962 assists, 26 aces, 35 kills, 216 digs and 50 total blocks during the 2019 season. Gramly collected Second Team All-GLVC honors in 2019 and led McKendree with 106 total blocks, was second on the team with 228 kills while recording 36 digs.
Series History vs. McKendree – Saturday's contest marks the 12th meeting all-time between Lewis and McKendree with the Flyers holding a 9-2 advantage in the series and have won three straight in the series. Last season, Lewis defeated the Bearcats in straight sets in Lebanon by set scores of 25-17, 25-14, 25-21.
Up Next – The Flyers travel south to Springfield, Ill., to take on the Prairie Stars of Illinois Springfield next Friday (Feb. 12) at 7 p.m.
