ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The Lewis University women's volleyball team ended its annual Mother/Daughter Weekend on a high note, defeating Illinois Springfield 3-1 Saturday afternoon at Neil Carey Arena.
With the win, the Flyers improved to 8-5 (2-0 GLVC) while the Prairie Stars dropped to 3-9 (0-2 GLVC)
IMPACT PLAYERS
Marin Grossman (Hortonville, Wis./Hortonville) paced Lewis with 19 kills while
Grace Malek (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield South) provided 24 assists. At the service line,
Kynzie Lilly (Richmond, Texas/Southwest Baptist) continued her strong weekend, notching five aces. Four different Flyers recorded 10-or-more digs, underscored by a 20-dig performance from
Elena Gubera (Jamestown, Ind./Western Boone). At the net,
Sarah Newberry (Fairfield, Ohio/Stephen T Badin) totaled five blocks with one solo and four assists. As a team, the Red and White hit .276 (57-15-152) compared to .169 (44-18-154) for UIS.
Kendall Johnson led the Prairie Stars with 12 kills, with Madi Siefken notching 16 assists. Emma Frazier had 15 digs in the loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The two teams traded blows early in the first set and were tied 13-13 midway through. Three straight points for the Prairie Stars gave them a 16-13 lead. They held the lead for the rest of the set to win 25-22.
USI came out hot to begin the second set, leading 5-1. However, a service error changed the momentum as Lewis answered with five straight points behind three straight aces from Lilly to take a 6-5 lead. The Prairie Stars held an 8-7 lead when Lewis reeled off six straight points to pull ahead 13-8.
UIS was within two points at 20-18 when a Newberry kill propelled the Flyers to the final five points of the set and a 25-18 win.
The Flyers used an 11-point run early in the third set to take command with a 13-3 lead. Lewis was never challenged as the Flyers cruised to a 25-16 win.
In the fourth set, the two teams were tied 10-10 when Lewis scored four of the next five points to take a 14-11 lead. The Prairie Stars got to within a point at 18-17 when the Flyers took control for good. Three Grossman kills helped the Flyers finish the set on a 7-2 run to win the set 25-19 and take the match 3-1.
POSTMATCH COMMENTS
MATCH NOTES
- Lewis is now 22-1 all-time against UIS.
- Lilly is the first player under head coach Lorelee Smith with five-or-more service aces in consecutive matches.
- Lewis is 2-0 to start conference play for the second time in three seasons.
- Malek recorded her second double-double of the season with her performance this afternoon.
UP NEXT
The Flyers will hit the road and head to Upper Iowa on Sept. 25. Opening serve is set for 6 p.m.
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.
