Jan. 16, 2004

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - In a rematch of the 2003 NCAA semifinal that saw Lewis defeat Pepperdine in five games, Pepperdine exacted its revenge with a 3-0 sweep of the host Flyers. Pepperdine stifled the emotion of a capacity crowd of 1,200 with a performance that displayed its worthiness of the nation's No. 1 ranking.

"No doubt Pepperdine was the favorite to win this match," said Lewis head coach Dave Deuser. "They are deep and solid in each rotation and are definitely the best team in the nation right now."

The Waves (3-0) claimed a 30-23, 30-28, 30-20 victory in one hour and twenty-five minutes.

With the exception of setter John Mayer at six feet two inches tall, Pepperdine's starting lineup is at least 6-5. The result is an intimidating block that dominated the Flyer offense with 15 team blocks in the three games.

"They are probably the best blocking team in the nation," said Deuser.

The Flyers were out of rhythm at times, but that is to be expected while breaking in a new setter. Brandon Sisk ran the offense in his fourth collegiate start and had a few minor hiccups along the way. Sisk passed out 40 assists, but had four ball handling errors.

"Brandon has been thrust into the position under a lot of pressure," said Deuser. "He's just going to keep getting better as the year goes on and as he gets more experience."

Offensively, Fabiano Barreto (Campinas, Brazil/)'s 13 kills led the Flyers. Jeff Soler added 10 kills and a .333 hitting percentage, while Enrique Escalante posted seven kills and a .556 hitting percentage.

Ryan Stuntz had a team-best nine digs to pace the Lewis defense.

Fred Winters and Andy Hein led Pepperdine. Winters had a match-high 15 kills, while Hein registered eight kills and 10 block assists.

Lewis led game 1 15-12 at the technical timeout, but Pepperdine's locals Hein (Carol Stream, Ill.) and Sean Rooney (Wheaton, Ill.) powered the Waves through a 9-0 run that handed them a 21-15 lead. During the run, the pair combined for three blocks, Rooney had three kills, and Hein had a kill.

Pepperdine held the 15-12 lead at the technical timeout in game 2, but Lewis scored three straight points and tied the game at 15-all. Another Waves spurt pushed the score to 21-16, before Lewis was able to mount a comeback. Greg Pochopien (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg)'s kill for Lewis tied the game at 25-all. Winters committed an error at 26-all and Lewis owned a 27-26 lead. Pepperdine freshman John Parfitt quickly responded with a kill to tie the game and then Winters served an ace that turned the game's tide.

"That ace cost us the second game," said Deuser. "I thought we had an opportunity to squeak out the game, but when you get right down to the wire, you've got to execute."

Pepperdine got out to an early lead in game 3 and rolled to the victory from there.

Lewis will face Penn State in the 8 p.m. match of the Cheddar's Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 17. Pepperdine will play Loyola Chicago at 6 p.m.