April 24, 2004

Box Score

FORT WAYNE, Ind.-- - Last season, IPFW as the No. 5 seed upset the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament. This year, the Mastodons had the table turned on them as defending MIVA and NCAA champion Lewis bested them 3-1.

The Flyers (17-13) advance to the MIVA semifinals where they will face top seeded Ohio State. Ohio State will host the conference semifinal and championship matches April 30 and May 1.

Lewis, who had lost both of its regular season matches with IPFW, added fuel to the argument of how difficult it is to beat a team three times in the same season. The teams hadn't met since Feb. 14 and the two-month layoff gave Lewis time to gel as a team. It also gave IPFW a completely different opponent than the one it had beaten twice already. The result was a 30-20, 30-27, 22-30, 32-30 victory that propelled the Flyers into the conference semifinals for the ninth straight year.

Fabiano Barreto paced Lewis with a match-high 22 kills, while adding seven digs and hitting .267. Middle hitter Greg Pochopien stepped up and gave the offense a potent secondary option. Pochopien had 13 kills with a team high four blocks and a .524 hitting percentage.

Fellow middle hitter Enrique Escalante had seven kills on eight attempts for a team-high .875 hitting percentage.

Setter Brandon Sisk guided the offense to a .271 hitting percentage while passing out 52 assists. Lewis' defense held IPFW to a .205 hitting mark.

Lewis' quest to defend its conference title will continue April 30 when it faces the Buckeyes in the 7:30 p.m. semifinal