April 16, 2005

Quincy Final Stats
Lees-McCrae Final Stats

QUINCY, Ill.--Playing a rare doubleheader in men's collegiate volleyball, Lewis University defeated Quincy University 3-1 and Lees-McCrae College 3-2.

Lewis (17-14, 10-6 Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) defeated MIVA foe Quincy (9-16, 4-12 MIVA) 27-30, 30-22, 30-27, 30-23. The Flyers then downed Lees-McCrae, an NCAA Division II independent, 26-30, 25-30, 30-24, 30-27, 15-11.

Against Quincy, four Flyers had at least 10 kills. Senior Matt Mueller registered a double double and paced the quad with 18 kills and 12 digs. Jared Dayton (14 kills, eight digs), Jeff Soler (13 kills, nine digs, three blocks) and Enrique Escalante (11 kills, three aces, three blocks) also chipped in.

Libero J.J. Castellano tallied a career-high 15 digs and Greg Pochopien had a team-best six blocks and .438 hitting percentage. Setter Tom Mendoza handed out 58 assists and added seven digs.

Lees-McCrae (22-3) entered the match against Lewis with the nation's best winning percentage. LMC had its nation's best 20-match winning streak snapped the day before by Quincy and the Flyers made it two losses in a row on Saturday.

Lewis rallied from two sets down to beat the Bobcats. Senior Greg Pochopien ended his career with a career-best 18 kills, while hitting .577 with five digs and six blocks.

Escalante and Soler added 17 kills apiece. Escalante notched four service aces, three blocks and hit .519, while Soler had eight digs and three blocks.

Jared Dayton pounded 13 kills to go with six digs and four blocks. Meanwhile, Mendoza passed out a season-high 67 assists and Castellano tied the school's single-match digs record with 16.

The Flyers end their season tied for third with Ball State (10-6 MIVA) in the MIVA standings. Loyola (15-1) and Ohio State (14-2) finished first and second, respectively in the league.