Oct. 10, 2003
HONOLULU -
The Lewis men's volleyball team fell in five games to No. 5 Hawaii in the final match of the Outrigger Invitational.
Lewis (1-1) jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the fifth game, but a six-point Hawaii run gave the Warriors an 8-5 lead at the changeover and UH (1-1) went o to clinch the match with a 15-10 game 5 victory. Hawaii's three-hour victory came by scores of 26-30, 30-23, 33-31, 28-30, 15-10.
The top-ranked Flyers raced to a 6-1 lead in the match's opening game and eventually built a nine-point, 23-14 lead. Hawaii closed late, but Lewis was in control of the game throughout.
Game 2 saw the tables reversed and Hawaii evened the match 1-1.
Lewis built an 11-7 lead in game 3 only to see Hawaii come back and tie the game at 12-all. UH led 13-12 and was up 15-13 at the technical timeout, but Lewis tied the match at 18-all on a rollshot from junior Jeff Soler.
The teams would trade leads twice down the stretch until Hawaii earned the game's first game point at 29-28. Lewis staved off the point and earned one of its own with a 30-29 lead, but that chance was thwarted by Hawaii. The Warriors eventually won the game when Soler was called for a centerline violation.
Game 4 was the best-played game of the match with both teams running their offenses smoothly. Lewis hit .514 in game 4, while Hawaii posted a .368 mark. Soler had six kills in game 4 to add to his team-high 20 kills in the match. Freshman Jon Bergmann contributed four kills in the game as well.
Soler finished with 20 kills, five digs and a .385 hitting percentage. He was rewarded for his play in the tournament with all-tournament recognition. He combined for 39 kills, 19 digs and six blocks in Lewis' three matches.
Bergmann played well in his first collegiate big-match environment, tallying 13 kills, eight digs and a .333 hitting percentage. Fabiano Barreto added 19 kills, seven digs and two blocks.
The Flyers will be faced with their second straight challenging week this Friday and Saturday when they host the Cheddar's Invitational presented by Stay Focused Gear. Lewis will take on NCAA semifinalists Pepperdine and Penn State Friday and Saturday, respectively.
