ROMEOVILLE, Ill. -- The No. 16 Lewis University women's volleyball team battled to a hard-fought 3-2 setback against No. 4 Missouri-St. Louis Saturday (Oct. 7) at Neil Carey Arena.
 
TEAM RECORDS
No. 4 Missouri-St. Louis (17-0, 5-0 GLVC) | No. 16 Lewis (13-5, 5-1 GLVC)
                    
LEWIS LEADERS
Kills: Juliana Van Loo (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs) (19), Megan Schlechte (Strasburg, Ill./Stewardson-Strasburg) (19), Bella Ray (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet Catholic) (11)
Digs: Ally Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) (22), Chloe Fornetti (Caledonia, Mich./East Kentwood) (10)
Assists: Lauren Stenman (Maplewood, Minn./North St. Paul) (50)
Blocks: Ray (5), Stenman (4)
Aces: Stenman (4)
 
SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: Lewis 25, UMSL 21
UMSL jumped out of the gate, taking the first four points including two attack errors by Lewis. But the Flyers charged back, taking six of the next eight to tie the first set at six points each.
 
Schlechte kept things rolling for Lewis with three kills in the midst of a 4-1 run for the Flyers to grab the set lead. The sides then went back-and-forth until the score was tied at 14.
 
A 3-0 run by Lewis secured a lead the Flyers would not relinquish the rest of the set. The Flyers finished the 25-21 set win off of an attack error by the Tritons.
 
Set 2: UMSL 25, Lewis 23
Lewis earned a 2-0 set lead with back-to-back kills by Schlechte, but UMSL came on strong with an 8-1 run to grab the advantage. A 3-0 charge by the Tritons later gave UMSL the 11-6 lead.
 
The Flyers pushed back with five of the next seven points, but three straight kills for the Tritons restored the five-point gap. Lewis later had three straight kills of their own, two by Ray, to narrow the deficit back to two.
 
UMSL got to the doorstep of a set victory at 23-18, but the Flyers then put together a 4-0 run capped by a service ace by Stenman. The Tritons recovered to finish the set with a pair of kills.
 
Set 3: Lewis 25, UMSL 19
Lewis was dominant in the third set, never trailing and finishing with a hitting percentage of .531. After both sides had three points, the Flyers burst ahead with a 5-1 run with four kills.
 
The offense stayed hot for Lewis, with a 7-1 push later around four kills and two aces to make it 15-7 Flyers. UMSL looked two mount a slow comeback, with two separate 4-1 runs that trimmed the Lewis advantage to 20-17, but that was as close as the set would get.
 
The Flyers finished the set with a 3-0 run on a kill by Ray and two attack errors by the Tritons.
 
Set 4: UMSL 25, Lewis 20
UMSL flipped the script on Lewis in the fourth set, never allowing the Flyers to take the lead. Four service aces by the Tritons highlighted the strong effort to push the game to a fifth set.
 
After a 5-5 start to the set, UMSL built a large advantage with an 8-1 run that featured three aces and three attack errors by Lewis. The Flyers battled back, though, taking five of the next seven points all on kills to get back to within four.
 
A 3-0 push by the Tritons threatened to make the set a blowout, but a later 6-2 run for Lewis brought the Flyers back within striking distance. Unfortunately for Lewis, UMSL then closed the set with a 4-2 push with three kills.
 
Set 5: UMSL 15, Lewis 8
The Tritons saved the best play for last, hitting .364 in the fifth set with three service aces. After the Flyers took the first point, UMSL secured a 4-1 push to grab the advantage.
 
Lewis fought right back with a 3-0 run to regain the lead, but after being ahead 6-5, allowed a backbreaking 6-0 run by the Tritons with three kills and an ace.
 
The Flyers took the next two points, but UMSL regrouped and secured the last four points with three kills to take the match.
 
UP NEXT
Lewis women's volleyball will be in Hammond, Ind. next weekend for the GLVC-GLIAC-GMAC Crossover. The Flyers will find out their opponents for the invitational, which starts Friday (Oct. 13), no later than Monday.