March 29, 2009

Box Score

Box Score in PDF Format

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Junior Nathan Klaas (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) had a career-high 21 kills while hitting .500 to lead the No. 11 Lewis Flyers over Rutgers-Newark 30-26, 30-26, 30-21 on Sunday afternoon at Neil Carey Arena.

"Nate (Klaas) not only did a nice job swinging, but he had solid serving, defense and passing," head coach Dan Friend said. "He had a complete game for us."

Lewis started slow, trailing 11-9 before knotting it at 11. The Scarlett Raiders stayed strong, holding a 23-20 advantage late in the set. Rutgers-Newark took a 26-24 lead on a kill by Marcin Midura, however it would be the last point the Scarlet Raiders would score in the set. Lewis finished on a 6-0 run that featured two Klaas kills and two aces by freshman Brian Muesenfechter (Florissant, Mo./Christian Brothers).

Muesenfechter finished with a career best five aces and 10 kills.

"Brian was good, especially at the end of sets," Friend said.

Set two was just as tight, featuring 14 ties and five lead changes. Much like the first set, it was a strong Lewis finish that was the difference. The score was tied at 24 when three straight Lewis points forced a Rutgers-Newark timeout. A kill by Muesenfechter, his sixth of the set, gave Lewis a 29-26 lead. On set point Klaas teamed with junior Craig Boller (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) for a block.

Lewis took control of set three with a 7-2 run halfway through to make the score 15-9. The teams combined for 10 straight side outs to make the score 20-14. Klaas added two straight kills for points 29 and 30 and the match victory.

The Flyers improve to 19-5. Rutgers-Newark falls to 8-12 The Flyers host Ohio State on Saturday at 7 p.m. The match will be aired on Lakeshore TV