The William Jewell volleyball team put up a fight on the road against one of the top teams in the nation but fell to No. 21 Lewis University in straight sets 25-20, 25-21, 25-21. The loss drops to Jewell to 7-19 overall, 1-12 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

The match opened with Lewis grabbing a 22-16 lead in set one before the Cardinals made things interesting but eventually fell 25-20. Jewell hit a game high .167 in the opening frame with seven kills on 30 attempts while committing just two errors. However the Flyers posted 16 kills on 40 attempts to grab the win.

The second set saw Jewell grab a 13-11 lead before Lewis recorded two kills to tie it and never looked back. Although the Cardinals competed they couldn't overcome the two point deficit and two more late errors forced the 25-21 loss. In the second frame Jewell hit a dismal .021 but the defense kept them in the game recording 24 digs.

The Cardinals seemed to have found a groove in set three as they battled back from a 5-2 hole to tie the game at six before taking a five point lead at 12-7, behind two kills and a block from Paige Cunningham. However the Flyers did not go quietly as they came roaring back to tie the game at 15 before pushing through the set, winning 25-21 to take the match.

On the day Jewell hit just .107 but held Lewis to a .183 attack percentage, well under their season average of .233. The Cardinals were nearly identical to the top ranked Flyers recording 32 kills and 60 digs to Lewis' 37 and 63 respectively.

Jewell was paced by Stefanie Richterkessing who posted 28 assists, ten digs, and four aces on the day. Three other players recorded double-digit digs, led by Cunningham's career-high of 14, along with Codi Winslow's 12, and Olivia Tolberd with ten. Offensively Raechel Meisinger led the team with ten kills on 30 attempts while Kelsey Wagner chipped six kills.

The Cardinals will return home for the final time this season next weekend as they host Saint Joseph's on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Indianapolis on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Friday evening will also serve Senior Night for Jewell as the team will honor its two seniors Kaylee Marquardt and Kelsey Wagner.