March 12, 2008

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CHICAGO - Freshman Brian Muesenfechter notched 22 kills and senior Jared Dayton had 18 to lead the Flyers to a 3-2 (30-26, 24-30, 30-25, 24-30, 15-12) victory over No. 15 Loyola-Chicago in a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association road match on Wednesday evening.

Muesenfechter didn't just put up the numbers, he did it when it counted the most. He notched two kills and two solo blocks to account for the Flyers' final four points of game five. He hit .375 with two aces and three digs.

Dayton hit .361 with four assisted blocks and one ace. Sophomore Mike Iandolo notched 53 assists and eight digs. He also had three aces and three blocks (one solo). Junior Drew Pickering had seven kills and four aces. As a team the Flyers had 12 aces.

The Flyers took game one but fell behind 6-0 right from the start. A 5-2 run gave the Flyers their first lead at 16-15 after an ace by Iandolo tied it up. With the scored tied at 17 a 6-3 run gave the Flyers a 23-20 lead. It was all Flyers down the stretch as Muesenfechter ended the game with a kill.

The Flyers trailed game two 9-7 when the Ramblers took control with a 6-0 run. Loyola never looked back and won by six points. Lewis took game three thanks to three aces while holding the Ramblers to none. Lewis led game four 9-6 until a 6-0 stretch swung the momentum back in favor of the Ramblers.

The Ramblers stayed hot into the final game, taking a 3-0 lead. Lewis grabbed their first lead of the game at 7-6 on a Muesenfechter ace. The Ramblers tied it at 11, but it only set up Muesenfechter's final flurry. Lewis out-hit the Ramblers .273 to -.214 in the final game.

The victory is the Flyers' second straight over a top 15 team, after winning at USC last Wednesday. Lewis improves to 13-6 (4-2 MIVA) and holds third place in the MIVA all to themselves. Loyola's Ian Anderson had 20 kills. Anderson and the Ramblers fall to 10-9 (4-3 MIVA).

Lewis hosts Newbury and Mercyhurst on Friday at Neil Carey Arena starting at 5 p.m.