#3 Rockhurst will play in their eighth Regional Championship on Saturday (December 2) against #1 Lewis. It will mark the third meeting between the Hawks and Flyers this season.
Midwest Regional Final
#3 Rockhurst vs. #1 Lewis
Saturday, December 2nd, 7:00 PM CST
Lewis University
Romeoville, IL
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Rockhurst Roster | Schedule | Stats
Lewis Roster | Schedule | Stats
Last Time Out
Rockhurst earned their eighth Regional Final berth Friday (December 1) with a sweep of Findlay.
The Hawks held on to win the first set, 25-23. Rockhurst rolled to a 25-10 win in the second set and captured the third set, 25-19. The Hawks finished with a .348 hitting percentage and have now won 16 of their last 18 matches.
Karli Reichert led the Hawks with 11 kills and five blocks.
Alyssa Woodman collected eight kills with a .389 hitting percentage.
Emily Matio posted eight kills and six blocks.
Audrey Arand tallied seven kills with a .312 hitting percentage.
Grace Carter added with 31 assists and seven digs.
GLVC Tournament Championship Rematch
Rockhurst captured the first two sets before falling to top-seeded Lewis, 3-2, in the championship game of the GLVC Tournament Sunday in East Peoria, Illinois. The Hawks won the first two sets, 25-22 and 27-25. Lewis evened with match with 25-19 wins in the third and fourth sets. The Flyers went on a 9-2 run in winning the third set, 15-8.
Karli Reichert led the Hawks with 17 kills and a .292 hitting percentage.
Alyssa Woodman posted 13 kills and 16 digs.
Audrey Arand tallied 11 kills and six digs.
Grace Carter finished with 34 assists, 15 digs and seven kills.
Anne Hellwege collected 24 digs.
Dani Prusha added 20 assists and 10 digs.
Kalie Arnold chipped in with 14 digs.
About Rockhurst
Rockhurst won the GLVC West Division, ending the regular season with a 28-7 overall record. In conference, the Hawks finished 14-4.
Alyssa Woodman led the Hawks with 400 kills.
Mary Rolf finished with a team-high .343 hitting percentage.
Anne Hellwege became the all-time school leader in digs this past fall.
RU took down UMSL and McKendree to advance to the GLVC Tournament Championship two weekends ago. The Hawks led 2-0 at the intermission, before falling to the Flyers in five sets.
NCAA Tournament Experience
Rockhurst will be playing in their eighth Regional Final on Saturday, with the last being in 2015. The Hawks upset Ferris State to advance to the Elite Eight in their last Regional Final. Senior
Anne Hellwege recorded 26 digs in that match, while
Grace Carter had three kills.
The Hawks suffered losses in the regional finals to Grand Valley State in 2005 and 2014, along with falling in the regional finals in 1998 and 1999 to North Alabama, 2002 to West Texas A&M and 2003 to Nebraska-Kearney. Rockhurst has compiled a 14-10 overall record in NCAA competition.
Coach Tracy Rietzke
Tracy Rietzke has led the Hawks for 30 years. Rietzke became the fifth volleyball coach in NCAA history to rack up 1,200 wins in a career on October 27. RU has averaged more than 34 wins per season and advanced to post-season play 23 times under Rietzke. He is currently the fourth-winningest women's volleyball coach in NCAA history.
About #1 Lewis
The Flyers ended the season ranked third nationally, earning a one seed in the Midwest Regional. Lewis finished the regular season 31-2, claiming the GLVC Regular Season and Tournament Titles.
Lewis' streak of 12 consecutive NCAA trips is the longest of all women's volleyball teams in the Midwest Region and longest ever of any Lewis program since the Flyers joined the NCAA Division II ranks in 1981.
Next Up
NCAA Elite Eight
December 7, TBD
Pensacola, FL
