April 15, 2009

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CHICAGO - No. 12 Lewis men's volleyball rallied after losing the first two sets to force a fifth against No. 15 Loyola-Chicago on Wednesday evening, however couldn't get the final victory and fell 30-28, 30-26, 24-30, 28-30, 15-11.

Lewis held their largest lead of the opening set at 12-8 before the Ramblers rallied to knot it at 13. The Flyers took a 17-14 advantage only to have Loyola respond with three straight points to tie it up. A kill by sophomore Brian Muesenfechter (Florissant, Mo./Christian Brothers) gave Lewis their final lead of the set at 19-18. Loyola grabbed a 21-19 lead and never looked back. Both teams hit over .340 in the set.

Loyola opened the second set on an 11-5 run. The Flyers chipped at the lead and made it 21-19 when Loyola called a time out. The Ramblers led 25-20 when three straight Lewis points made it a two-point game again. Loyola called another timeout however Lewis added another on a Loyola attack error to get within one at 25-24. But the Ramblers finished strong and took the set.

The Flyers came out strong in the third, taking a 15-12 lead on a kill by sophomore Brian Schmidt (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest). A Muesenfechter ace made it 20-16. The Flyers cruised from there, winning the set by six points. Muesenfechter had five kills in the set.

Set four was knotted at 10 before a Muesenfechter kill and ace made it 12-10 in favor of the Flyers. A kill by senior Alex Vigansky (Kenosha, Wis./Tremper) gave Lewis a 17-13 lead and forced the Ramblers to call a timeout. Just five points later Loyola used their final timeout when Lewis took a 20-15 advantage. The Ramblers got their legs and advanced within one on four occasions before knotting it at 28 and forcing the Flyers to ask for time. However kills by senior Billy Sahagian (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) and junior setter Mike Iandolo (Orlando, Fla./Long Beach State) on a perfectly placed dump gave Lewis the set.

The clubs traded points in the fifth set until a Sahagian kill, a combined block by Sahagian and junior Nathan Klaas (Orland Park, Ill/Sandburg) and a Klaas kill gave Lewis a 9-6 advantage. However the Ramblers scored four of the next five points to take an 11-10 lead. A Vigansky kill tied it back up but it would be the last point the Flyers would score. Loyola tallied the final four points to take the five set victory.

Muesenfechter finished with 20 kills, two short of the career-high he set at Loyola last season. Klaas added 18 kills and six digs. Sahagian tallied 14 kills. Iandolo recorded 58 assists, six digs and two aces.

"The guys found a sense of urgency after the second set," head coach Dan Friend said. "Problem is we didn't sustain it."

The conference leader in kills, senior Drew Pickering (Wauwatosa, Wis./Wauwatosa West), was out for the Flyers due to the flu.

"Both of our middles did a nice job," Friend said. "Moose (Muesenfechter) had a nice game as well."

The difference in the game came at the net, with the Ramblers holding a 12.0-5.5 edge in blocks.

Loyola improves to 15-9 (4-5 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association). Lewis falls to 20-7 (6-3 MIVA). Lewis is next in action on Saturday against IPFW at 7 p.m. The Flyers will need a Senior Day victory to clinch a bye in the first round of the MIVA Tournament.