ROMEOVILLE, Ill. — Despite tallying a season-high 64 kills,
Lewis lost to Rockhurst, 3-2, in Great Lakes Valley Conference women's volleyball action Friday night at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers won the first two sets 25-21 and 25-23 before dropping the final three 15-25, 16-25 and 18-20.
With the win, the Hawks improved to 18-6 (9-1 GLVC) while the Flyers saw their record move to 13-12 (6-4 GLVC)
IMPACT PLAYERS
Ann Kelly Velikov (Orvault, France/C.E.N.S.) led the Flyers with 21 kills while hitting .514.
Sarah Newberry (Fairfield, Ohio/Stephen T Badin) finished with 16 kills, hit .387 and added four blocks.
Elena Gubera (Jamestown, Ind./Western Boone) recorded a team-high 22 digs and added two service aces.
Hannah Dietzenbach (Fall River, Wis./Fall River) posted seven blocks to go with five kills.
Kaileigh Krawiec (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) and
Grace Malek (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield South) each notched 28 assists in the loss.
Alyssa McDonald totaled 15 kills on a .345 hitting percentage and finished with a team-high 17.5 points. Delaney Hope added 14 kills while hitting .591 and recorded 14.5 points. Kaitlyn Dumpit posted 29 assists, six digs and one service ace. Victoria Gray collected 13 digs, seven kills and two service aces.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Flyers went up 3-1 on two Velikov kills and a block error, but Rockhurst answered with a five-point stretch to move ahead 6-3 and later led 11-6 after kills by Bailey Donnelly and Chloe Tyrrell. A Rockhurst service error sent
Kynzie Lilly (Richmond, Texas/Southwest Baptist) to the line at 11-7, and the Red and White scored the next eight points on her serve, using kills from
Ella Skogman (Waukesha, Wis/Waukesha West), Newberry and
Kyra Marciniak (Potterville, Mich./Potterville), two Lilly aces and a Skogman-Newberry block to move in front 15-11. Rockhurst cut the margin to 17-16 with a Molly Trachta ace, but Skogman's kill, Krawiec's ace and a Rockhurst attack error pushed the Flyers back to 20-16. The Red and White reached 24-19 on a Rockhurst attack error and, after Rockhurst scored twice, closed the set 25-21 on
Marin Grossman's (Hortonville, Wis./Hortonville) kill from Malek.
The second set stayed tight through 10-10, with Gubera serving two aces and the Flyers getting kills from Velikov, Newberry and
Marin Grossman (Hortonville, Wis./Hortonville). Rockhurst went in front 13-12 on a Delaney Hope kill, but the Red and White answered with a Rockhurst service error, a bad set and later a Newberry kill before a block by Dietzenbach and Grossman put the Flyers up 17-15. After Rockhurst cut the margin to 17-16, Velikov had back-to-back kills and Ali Olson's attack error pushed the Flyers ahead 20-16, though Rockhurst responded with three straight points to get within 20-19. Velikov followed with a kill and a service ace to make it 22-19, Rockhurst came back to tie it at 23-23, and after a Rockhurst service error gave the Flyers set point, Dietzenbach and Marciniak combined on the final block to close the set 25-23.
The Flyers traded points with Rockhurst early in the third set, pulling even at 5-5 on an attack error after kills by Newberry, Velikov and Grossman. Rockhurst moved ahead 8-5, and although the Red and White stayed within range behind Newberry, Dietzenbach and a block by Velikov and Newberry that made it 12-11, Rockhurst kept answering to maintain the lead. Newberry's kill brought the Flyers within 14-13, but Rockhurst pushed the margin to 16-13 and, after a Skogman kill made it 16-14, scored eight straight points to reach 24-14. Dietzenbach stopped the run with a kill, but Rockhurst closed the set on the next point for a 25-15 win.
Rockhurst broke a 4-4 tie with four straight points, including two Victoria Gray aces and a Delaney Hope kill, to put the Flyers behind 8-4 in the fourth set. Velikov kept the Red and White within range with kills during the middle of the set, but Rockhurst moved from 14-9 to 17-9 behind two Avery DeLong kills and another from Gray. The Flyers later cut a 21-12 deficit to 21-15 as Velikov had two kills and teamed with Dietzenbach on a block, but Rockhurst answered with back-to-back Riley Hays kills and closed the set 25-16.
Rockhurst moved ahead 9-6 in the fifth set after kills by Avery DeLong and Alyssa McDonald, but Velikov answered with a kill and the Flyers used
Kynzie Lilly's (Richmond, Texas/Southwest Baptist) serve to take four straight points for an 11-9 lead, including blocks involving Dietzenbach with Marciniak and Velikov. After Velikov's kill made it 12-10 and a Newberry/Velikov block pushed the Red and White to 13-11, Rockhurst scored three straight to go up 14-13 before Newberry's kill and
Marin Grossman's (Hortonville, Wis./Hortonville) finish put the Flyers back ahead 15-14. The teams traded points to 18-17 Flyers, with Grossman adding two kills and Velikov another, but Rockhurst closed with an Ali Olson kill, an Alyssa McDonald kill and a Carlie Pandjaris ace to take the set 20-18.
MATCH NOTES
- Lewis has recorded at least six service aces in five consecutive matches.
- Today marked the 36th all-time meeting between the two schools
- The Flyers recorded 60 or more kills in a match for the first time since a 69 kill performance against Southwest Baptist (Nov. 15, 2025)
- Dietzenbach recorded seven or more total blocks in a match for the first time since Sept. 25 at Upper Iowa when she had nine
UP NEXT
The Flyers host William Jewell on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 3 p.m. at Neil Carey Arena in Romeoville, Ill.
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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.
