WILLIAMSVILLE, Ill. -- The Lewis University women's volleyball team rallied from down 2-1 and took down No. 22 and six seed Missouri-St. Louis 3-2 in the first round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament at Williamsville Fieldhouse Friday (November 22).
TEAM RECORDS
Lewis 20-10 | No. 22 Missouri-St. Louis 19-8
LEWIS LEADERS vs. Missouri-St. Louis
Kills: Bella Ray (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet Catholic) (18),
Lauren Buxton (Springfield, Ill./Pleasant Plains) (16),
Natalie Stefanski (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet West) (10),
Hannah Alvey (Mapleton, Ill./Illinois Central College) (10)
Digs: Ally Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) (26),
Natalie Stefanski (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet West) (24),
Lily King (Channahon, IL) (14),
Rachel Kaczorowski (Carpentersville, Ill./Harry D. Jacobs) (12), Alvey (11)
Assists: King (24), Kaczorowski (19), Hickey (11)
Aces: Hickey (2), Ray (2), Stefanski (2)
Blocks: Ray (4)
SET BREAKDOWN vs. Missouri-St. Louis
Set 1: Lewis 25, Missouri-St. Louis 19
Both teams each scored a pair of points to start the contest to make it 2-2. The set went back-and-forth for a while.
UMSL went up 13-12 then Lewis went on a 5-1 rally which was capped by a pair of kills from Stefanski giving the Flyers a 17-14 lead. The Tritons tried to fight back but were unable to do as Ray ended the set with back-to-back kills.
Set 2: Missouri-St. Louis 25, Lewis 19
Missouri-St. Louis jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the set looking to tie it at one. Lewis tried to get back in the set after a kill from Buxton.
The Tritons extended its lead out to 10-4 after four straight points. The Flyers were able to mount a comeback and go on a 7-1 run to tie the set at 11 a piece after a block from Januski and Buxton.
UMSL responded with three straight points to regain a 14-11 lead which turned into 17-12 moments later. Lewis was able to bounce back and score three straight which was capped by a kill from Buxton.
That was the closest Lewis got the rest of the way as UMSL won the set 25-19.
Set 3: Missouri-St. Louis 25, Lewis 16
Lewis jumped out to an early 5-1 advantage after a block from Ray. Missouri-St. Louis responded with five out of the next six points to tie it at 6-6.
Keegan Carey (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) recorded a kill for the next point and the Flyers regained the lead at 7-6 which sparked a small rally for Lewis. Both teams would trade points until it was tied 14-14 then the Tritons made it 22-14 after scoring eight straight points.
Stefanski tried to start a rally for the Flyers after recording the kill but it was already too late as UMSL took the third 25-16.
Set 4: Lewis 25, Missouri-St. Louis 14
Lewis jumped to another lead to start the fourth, needing to win this set to survive and went up 8-1 after from Ray and Alvey. UMSL responded with four straight points to cut it down to 8-5 but that would the closest the Tritons got.
The Flyers went on to score seven straight which was started by kills from Stefanski and Ray which made it 15-5. Three straight kills from three separate Flyers made it 23-9 which pretty much sealed the fourth set for Lewis.
Set 5: Lewis 17, Missouri-St. Louis 15
Lewis jumped out an early 4-1 lead after an ace from Hickey. The Tritons responded with four straight of their own to grab a 5-4 advantage.
Missouri-St. Louis held onto the lead until it was 11-10 UMSL then Lewis scored back-to-back points including an ace from Stefanski gave the Flyers a 12-11 lead. The Tritons regained the lead after back-to-back points to make it 13-12.
The Flyers forced match point after a kill from Alvey and a block from Alvey and Ray. UMSL tied it back up at 15-15 then a kill and block from Ray won it for the Flyers.
UP NEXT
Lewis will be back in action Saturday, November 23 as the Flyers take on No. 7 seed Indianapolis in the GLVC Tournament Semifinals starting at 5:30 p.m. CT.
