LIBERTY, Mo. -- The Lewis University women's volleyball team fended off a difficult challenge from William Jewell on the road Friday, winning 3-1 at Mabee Center to remain undefeated in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
 
TEAM RECORDS
No. 19 Lewis (11-4, 3-0 GLVC) | William Jewell (6-9, 1-2 GLVC)
                   
LEWIS LEADERS
Kills: Megan Schlechte (Strasburg, Ill./Stewardson-Strasburg) (16)
Digs: Ally Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) (24)
Assists: Lauren Stenman (Maplewood, Minn./North St. Paul) (50)
Blocks: Bella Ray (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet Catholic) (3)
Aces: Schlechte (3), Emma O'Neill (Papillion, NE/Papillion La Vista South) (3)
 
SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: Lewis 25, WJC 18
The first set was defined by defense and errors. William Jewell grabbed a 4-1 lead early, but back-to-back attack errors by the Cardinals set off a Lewis run to take a 6-5 advantage.
 
The score stayed tight for a while after that point, until it was tied at 11. The Flyers then went on a 6-0 run with two kills, two aces by Schlechte, and two WJC attack errors.
 
After Lewis had earned a 21-17 lead, three of its last four points came on more mistakes by the Cardinals, with two service errors and a bad set. William Jewell finished the opening set with five attack errors and six service errors.
 
Set 2: WJC 25, Lewis 23
The second set began in stark contrast to the first, with each of the first five points scored via kill. The defenses dug in from there, though, as the Flyers had 27 digs in the set while the Cardinals picked up 28.
 
Both sides were unable to gain separation, with several 2-0 runs flipping the lead back and forth until it was 7-6 Lewis. Then it somehow got even tighter, with neither team securing consecutive points until the Flyers finally took two straight to gain a 14-12 lead.
 
From there, though, William Jewell went on a 5-1 run with Lewis' only point in the burst coming off of a service error. Later in the set, the teams traded 3-0 runs to make the score 23-21 WJC. Each of the final four points in the set were scored on attack errors.
 
Set 3: Lewis 25, WJC 19
Lewis responded strongly to its first set loss of GLVC play, never trailing in the fourth set. A 4-0 run off of two William Jewell attack errors and two kills gave the Flyers a 7-3 lead early.
 
After the Cardinals pushed back with three consecutive kills, Lewis secured seven of the next eight points with five kills in the run. The Flyers pushed the lead to as much as eight points, at 17-9, but WJC got right back into the set with a 5-0 run.
 
Lewis regrouped and scored the next three points, not allowing William Jewell within four points the rest of the set. Ray finished the set with a kill, and the Flyers hit .271 in set three, the highest in any set in the match.
 
Set 4: Lewis 28, WJC 26
Set four turned into a battle of wills after WJC jumped out to a 5-1 lead in front of the home crowd. Moments later, a 4-0 run by Lewis centered around three kills by Ray gave the Flyers a 9-8 advantage.
 
The score stayed tight from there until a 4-0 Cardinals run highlighted by three kills from Anna Godfredson gave William Jewell an 18-14 set lead and prompted a Lewis timeout.
 
The timeout proved to be just what the Flyers needed, busting out a 6-0 run capped by two consecutive service aces by O'Neill, forcing a Cardinals timeout.
 
Lewis and William Jewell went back-and-forth after that stoppage, with the Flyers reaching match point four times before Juliana Van Loo (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs) earned a kill to finish off the win.
 
UP NEXT
Lewis women's volleyball travels to Rockhurst Saturday (Sept. 30) at 3 p.m. CT for a matchup of two ranked GLVC teams.