ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's 14th ranked women's volleyball team returns home this weekend for a pair of matches against McKendree on Friday (Sept. 24) at 7 p.m. and against Southern Indiana on Saturday (Sept. 25) afternoon at 3 p.m. Saturday's match will be Parent Appreciation Day.
Fan Policy – Fans are permitted to attend games at Neil Carey Arena this season but are required to wear facemasks, regardless of vaccination status, while in the building and continue to practice social distancing. Fans are also required to fill out the visitor health screening form before entering the building.
Last Time Out – The Flyers opened GLVC play with a pair of wins last weekend. Lewis swept Quincy last Thursday in its home opener and then traveled to Liberty, Mo., on Saturday to defeat William Jewell 3-1. Sophomore outside hitter
Natalie Stefanski (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet West) led the Flyers with a career-high 20 kills in the win over the Cardinals last Saturday.
GLVC Player of the Week – Stefanski was rewarded for her performance last week in Lewis' wins over with her first career Baden GLVC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week award. The Plainfield, Ill., native averaged 4.57 kills per set and hit .347 last weekend. She is the second Flyer to be named Offensive Player of the Week this season joining teammate fifth-year senior middle hitter
Ava Venema (Westmont, Ill./Timothy Christian) who won the award on Sept. 6.
League Leaders – Fifth-year senior libero
Jamie Poppen (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway West) ranks second in the GLVC in digs per set with 5.66 while Venema is ranked fifth in kills with 3.48 and seventh in hitting percentage at .365. Sophomore setter
Lauren Stenman (Maplewood, Minn./North St. Paul) is sixth in assists with 9.31 per set and sophomore middle hitter
Bella Ray (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet Catholic) is eighth in the league in blocks with 1.00 per set.
AVCA Poll – Lewis climbed a spot to 14th in this week's AVCA Division II Top 25 Poll. The Flyers are the highest ranked team from the GLVC and are joined in the rankings by Rockhurst at 21. Southern Indiana and Missouri S&T are listed in the receiving votes category.
About McKendree – The Bearcats enter Friday's contest with a record of 3-6 overall and are 1-0 in the GLVC. McKendree defeated Drury in five sets in its GLVC opener last Saturday afternoon in Springfield, Mo. The Bearcats have won back-to-back contests heading into Friday's match.
Hope Gramly leads the McKendree with 100 kills and is averaging 3.03 per set. Brianna Binder and Colleen Preusser are averaging 2.52 and 2.42 kills per set respectively. Macy Tongate is the team's primary setter and is averaging 8.82 per set. On the defensive side, the Bearcats are led by Gramly with 39 total blocks and 1.18 blocks per set. Preusser leads the squad with 2.88 digs per set.
About Southern Indiana – The Screaming Eagles enter Saturday's contest with a record of 7-3 overall and are 1-1 in the GLVC. USI opened conference play last weekend with a win at home over Maryville and then in a rematch of last season's GLVC Championship match lost at Missouri S&T in five sets.
Saturday's contest is a matchup between two of the top offensive teams in the GLVC. Lewis is first in the conference in kills with 14.06 per set while the Screaming Eagles are second at 13.16. The Flyers are first in assists with 13.11 per set and USI is third at 11.86 per set. The Screagles are first in the league in hitting percentage at .241 while Lewis is fourth at .225.
Leah Anderson leads the USI attack with an average of 2.78 kills per set while Abby Weber is averaging 2.38 per set and Taylor Litteken is averaging 2.28 per set. Casey Cepicky leads the team in assists with 9.32 per set. Callie Guebra is averaging 4.03 digs per set and Sidney Hegg is averaging 0.82 blocks per set.
Series Stuff – Lewis is 11-2 all-time against the Bearcats and have won five straight. The Flyers swept the season series a season ago with a pair of sweeps. Lewis is 5-1 all-time against McKendree in Neil Carey Arena.
The Flyers hold a 37-13 advantage in the series against Southern Indiana and are 8-2 in the last 10 meetings. Both matches between the two schools went five sets last year with each team winning on the other's home floor.
Up Next – Lewis travels to Indianapolis on Tuesday (Sept. 28) to take on the UIndy Greyhounds at 6 p.m. (CDT).
