ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Drury volleyball secured its spot in next week's Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament with a 3-1 victory over Lewis Friday evening at Neil Carey Arena.

Entering the match tied with Lewis for the No. 7 position in the conference standings, the Panthers (16-12, 6-6 GLVC) locked up their berth by topping the Flyers by matching 25-21 scores in each of the first two sets, then overcame a six-point deficit in the fourth set to ultimately outlast Lewis, 28-26.

Abby Renshaw and Payton Mitchell delivered career performances to lead the Panthers, who defeated Lewis for just the third time in 23 overall meetings with the Flyers. Renshaw recorded 13 kills and hit .379, while Mitchell came up with 36 digs, as DU limited Lewis to .169 hitting for the match.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Drury took control of a tight first set with a 10-2 scoring run, turning a one-point edge into a 21-12 advantage.
• The Flyers battled back, using a 7-2 spurt to close to four points, but DU put the set away with the help of a pair of Phoebe Riddle kills.
• Skylar Hilton led DU with four kills and a pair of blocks, and Renshaw registered the first four of her 13 kills in the opening set.
• In the second set, Drury wiped out a 5-0 Lewis lead by winning 10 of the next 14 points as part of a 16-6 run.
• The Flyers rebounded to close to within a single point on three occasions, but a Jacy Bray kill and an Ella Rademaker service ace helped close out the set for DU.
• Renshaw hit .556 and logged five more kills to pace the Panthers in the second.
• Lewis was in control throughout the third set, once again claiming the first five points of the set, but this time holding the lead.
• Drury pulled to within a point at 14-13, but the Flyers responded by winning 11 of the next 13 points for a 25-15 win.
• The Flyers once again built an early advantage in the fourth, leading by as many as six points early, before extending the margin to 23-15 -- just two points away from forcing a fifth set.
• But Drury answered, reeling off nine-straight points with the help of a pair of Hilton kills and a Chaney Barth service ace along the way to take a 24-23 lead.
• Lewis negated three match points for Drury, before Rademaker served an ace to seal the 28-26 stanza and match win.

NOTABLES

• Drury now holds a one-match lead over Lewis for the No. 7 position in the league standings; the Panthers locked up their first GLVC Tournament berth since 2019.
• Rademaker recorded her 11th-straight double-digit kill total dating back to Oct. 17, finishing with 11 kills to run her season total to a team-best 381.
• Mitchell has registered 90 combined digs in Drury's last three matches.
• Hilton recorded three blocks, running her freshman season total to 105.
• Lauren Tyler hiked her career assist total to 2,458, which ranks eighth on the Panthers' all-time list.
• Bray recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 24 assists and 14 digs.

UP NEXT
Drury will conclude its trip -- and regular season -- with a 2 p.m. (CT) contest against Indianapolis at Ruth Lilly Fitness Center Saturday.

For all the latest information on Drury volleyball, visit drurypanthers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Panthers on X and Instagram.

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