April 18, 2009

Box Score

Box Score in PDF Format

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - No. 12 Lewis men's volleyball swept Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association foe IPFW 30-26, 30-24, 30-24 on Saturday evening to clinch the No. 2 seed in the MIVA Tournament. The victory also allowed six Lewis seniors win their final match at Neil Carey Arena.

Seniors Billy Sahagian (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett), Drew Pickering (Wauwatosa, Wis./Wauwatosa West), Jordan Vidovic (Blue Island, Ill./Brother Rice), Alex Vigansky (Kenosha, Wis./Tremper), Nick Perakes (Orlando, Fla./Cypress Creek) and David Kelnhofer (Waukesha, Wis./Catholic Memorial) all started on Saturday evening.

They were joined by junior Nathan Klaas (Orland Park, Ill./Sanburg), who finished with a match-high 13 kills and eight digs. Kelnhofer added 10 kills and five digs.

Vigansky had seven kills on seven swings with five blocks (one solo). Sahagian added 11 kills and a .474 hitting percentage with four blocks (two solo).

"Our middles were dominant," head coach Dan Friend said. "Alex and Billy did a great job."

Vidovic dished out 40 assists and five digs. Perakes added 12 digs. Pickering, still fighting the flu, had four kills in two sets of action.

"The guys manufactured a win tonight," Friend said. "Jordan did a fantastic job of running the offense. All of our stats were above our season average."

Set one was tied at 26 before Lewis finished on a 4-0 run. Pickering recorded a solo block and kill for the final two points.

Lewis used four runs of three or more to take control of the second set early.

Set three was tighter, with IPFW holding a 17-16 lead before three Lewis points gave the Flyers a slim lead. Lewis had just a one point lead at 22-21 when a 5-0 Flyers' run tilted the momentum toward Lewis. Vigansky had a kill and assisted on a block for the final two points of the match.

Lewis held dominating edges in blocks (11-2) and hitting percentage (.380-.157).

"Our six seniors have set the bar on what it takes to help a program reemerge at the top," Friend said. "I have nothing but gratitude for them."

IPFW falls to 12-14, 3-7 MIVA. Lewis finishes the regular season 21-7, 7-3 MIVA. The victory earns Lewis the No. 2 seed in the MIVA tournament and a bye in the quarterfinals. Lewis' next match will be April 30 on the campus of Ohio State University against a to be determined opponent.