Daytona Beach, Fla. – The Lewis University women's volleyball team ended their weekend with a 3-2 win over tournament hosts Embry-Riddle on the second day of the Embry-Riddle Invitational Saturday afternoon. Earlier on Saturday, the Flyers dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 11 Barry.
 
Lewis ended the weekend with a 6-5 record while Barry improved to 7-0. Embry-Riddle closed the tournament with a 7-3 overall record.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (VS #11 BARRY)
The Flyers roared out of the gate to begin the first set as they scored eight of the first 11 points of the match. Lewis never relented and used multiple long scoring runs, highlighted by an 8-3 spurt in the middle of the opening credenza, to seal the 25-16 set victory. The red and white had 14 kills with just two attacking errors to post a .480 hitting percentage while tallying four blocks.
 
In a tightly contested second set, the Flyers found themselves ahead by two, 16-14, after a kill from freshman Ann Kelly Velikov (Orvault, France/C.E.N.S.). Still, the Bucs turned the set to their favor as a kill from Valeria Kozlova spurred a 4-0 spurt that put them ahead for good, 18-16. Barry never looked back and tallied four of the final five points of the set to win, 25-20 and tie the match, 1-1.
 
The Bucs controlled the third set as they used a .286 (18-4-49) hitting percentage compared to .095 (8-4-42) for Lewis to claim a 25-17 set three victory and 2-1 match lead.
 
Barry continued to roll in the fourth set and used multiple scoring spurts to command a 24-19 lead. Down to their last point, the Flyers attempted to stave off the loss as a kill from freshman Kaleigh Krawiec kicked-off a 5-0 run that tied the match, 24-24. Still, the Flyers last ditch effort to force the fifth set was short lived as the Bucs put down back-to-back kills, courtesy of Kozlova's 35th of the match and Vavara Osychenko to take the final frame, 26-24 and seal the 3-1 match win.
 
Kozlova led Barry with 35 kills while Petra Brkicic tallied a match-best 41 assists. Gaia Reidmuller notched 26 digs while Ester Pushkarov amassed five total blocks in the win. Barry ended the match with a hitting percentage of .272 (64-20-162) compared to .187 (46-18-150) for Lewis.
 
Junior Lauren Buxton (Springfield, Ill./Pleasant Plains) led Lewis with 12 kills while Krawiec dished out 31 assists. On the defensive side of the ball, junior Kynzie Lilly (Richmond, Texas/Southwest Baptist) notched a team-best 19 digs while junior Sarah Newberry (Fairfield, Ohio/Stephen T Badin) put down five total blocks at the net.  
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (AT EMBRY-RIDDLE)
In a battle of two of the top aeronautical schools in the country, the Flyers and Eagles found themselves tied, 24-24, in the first set. Lewis struck first to break the deadlock thanks to a Newberry kills to take a slim , 25-24 lead. Embry-Riddle responded by scoring four of the next six points to move to withing one of winning, 28-27.
 
The red and white were able to prevent the Eagles from claiming the next point as a Buxton kill tied the match, 28-28. Still, the Eagles were able to eventually take the first set as an attack error and kill from Dakota Zieman gave them the 30-28 first set win and a 1-0 match lead.
 
The Flyers grounded the Eagles in the second set as they rattled off five of the first seven points of the frame. Despite Embry-Riddle getting to within two of Lewis later in the set, 19-17, the red and white closed the set by tallying six of the final eight points of the stanza to win, 25-19 and tie the match, 1-1.
 
Embry-Riddle controlled the beginning of the third set as they commanded a 10-5 early on. Lewis responded with a 4-1 run, bookended by kills from Buxton and sophomore Marin Grossman (Hortonville, Wis./Hortonville), to move to withing two of tying the hosts, 11-9. Lewis continued to chip away at the Eagles lead but Embry-Riddle was able to seal the set with back-to-back kills to win, 25-21 and take a 2-1 lead.
 
In the fourth set against their Sunshine State foes, Lewis fell behind early and found themselves down 23-16 after a kill from Isabella Rujano. Still, the Flyers were able to prevent the Eagles offense from taking off as Buxton's third kill of the set uncorked a 9-1 run that moved Lewis ahead, 25-24. The Eagles attempted to stop the Flyers late surge with back-to-back kills to take a 26-25 lead, but the red and white clinched the fourth set comeback win with a pair of kills from senior Emma O'Neil and Velikov along with an attack error from the Flyers to win, 28-26 and force a winner-take-all fifth set.
 
Tied 7-7 midway through the final frame, the Flyers rattled off three consecutive scores with Velikov's 10th kill of the set capping the short spurt to give Lewis a 10-7 edge. Lewis never relinquished their lead and tallied the final four points of the match with junior Elena Gubera (Jamestown, Ind./Western Boone) serving her third ace of the match to complete the 15-9 fifth set win and 3-2 match victory.
 
O'Neil led Lewis with a season-high 16 kills and eight total blocks while Velikov was close behind with 14 of her own. Krawiec notched 32 assists in the five set win for Lewis. On the defensive side of the ball, Buxton tallied a season-high 21 digs to assist in the Flyers winning effort. Lewis hit at a clip of .280 (69-16-189), .77 higher than Embry-Riddle (71-27-217).
 
Zieman put down a match-high 22 kills while Ashlyn Koerner tallied 58 assists in the loss. Gabriela Pagan notched 32 kills on the defensive side of the ball for Embry-Riddle.
 
MATCH NOTES

• Lewis is now 4-4 against schools from the Sunshine State conference dating back to 2022.
• The Flyers have now played four teams ranked within the AVCA Top-25 through the first three weekends of the season. Last year, Lewis only played two top-25 teams during the first three weekends of the year.
• O'Neil's eight total blocks and seven block assists both represent a season-high.
• Buxton has tallied 10-or-more kills in four of her last five matches.
• With her three aces against Embry-Riddle, Gubera has now amassed three-or-more aces in five matches this year.
• Lewis is now 1-4 against Barry and 1-0 against Embry-Riddle all-time.

UP NEXT
The Flyers will begin conference play against in-state rival Illinois Springfield on Sept. 27. Opening serve from the state capital is scheduled for 6 p.m.

50 YEARS OF WOMEN'S ATHLETICS
Lewis University is also organizing several alumni and family events throughout the women's athletic seasons to commemorate this historic milestone. These special gatherings will provide an opportunity for former athletes, families, and supporters to reconnect and celebrate the achievements of women's sports at Lewis. The scheduled events include:

• Women's Soccer Alumni Day (Oct. 17)
• Women's Volleyball (Nov. 14)

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For the latest news, scores, and updates on Lewis women's volleyball, visit LewisFlyers.com and follow the Flyers on social media at @Lewisuwvb on Instagram and @LewisWVBall on X.