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ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Kim Richards recorded nine kills and a .533 hitting percentage as two-time defending Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament champion Lewis defeated Northern Kentucky University in three sets Saturday afternoon. Lewis won the match by scores of 26-24, 25-19, 25-23 in the Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers improved to 8-3 overall, 3-0 in the GLVC. Lewis also halted NKU’s winning streak at eight matches and defeated the Norse for the fourth consecutive time. Lewis entered the match ranked 24th nationally in the NCAA Division II poll, but NKU (9-3, 2-1 GLVC) jumped out to a 17-12 lead in the opening set and appeared to be in control. The Flyers, however, battled back with a 9-2 run to take a 21-20 advantage and pulled out the set when NKU committed two straight attacking errors. In the second set, NKU hit only .103 and watched as Lewis ended the stanza with a 7-1 run to take a 25-19 win. With the set tied at 18-all, the Flyers received three straight kills from Lauren Seliga, Stephanie Sagat and Rachel Ruedi to take a 21-18 lead. After another NKU attacking error extended Lewis’ advantage to 22-18, Sagat and Richards combined for a block to make it 23-18. The two teams traded service errors, and Richards closed out the set with an ace. NKU built a 16-11 lead in the third set when Kristina Eisenmenger converted an attack, but Lewis used a 13-7 spurt to grab a 24-23 lead. Richards then ended the match with a kill. Noelle Peterson and Kelsey Wesaw each finished with 10 kills to lead NKU, which hit just .206 for the match. The Norse entered the match leading the GLVC in hitting percentage at .335, but Lewis finished with 17 total blocks (one solo, 16 assisted) on Saturday. Natalie Forbes had 32 assists, six kills, six digs and a .667 hitting percentage for NKU. Annie Lucas converted five of her six attacks for kills and a .833 hitting percentage. NKU travels to Louisville, Ky., on Tuesday to meet Bellarmine before returning home to meet Saint Joseph’s in Regents Hall next Friday at 7 p.m. The following afternoon, the Norse play host to Indianapolis at 3 p.m. |
