Feb. 18, 2011

Box Score

Box Score in PDF Format

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - A freshman setter fighting the flu in a road conference match? No problem for No. 14 Lewis men's volleyball at IPFW on Friday evening. Lewis rallied after dropping the first set to defeat the Mastodons 3-1 (15-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-22).

Freshman BJ Boldog (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) dealt with the flu and the Mastodons and was able to record 46 assists.

"BJ was awesome tonight," head coach Dan Friend said. "He stepped up and put us in position to get a win."

Lewis trailed the first set just 16-14 when the Mastodons went on a 9-1 run to win by 10 points. IPFW hit .625 in the frame.

The second set was a different story. Lewis limited IPFW to -.032 hitting and pulled away midway through the frame with a five straight points.

Lewis took the first two-point lead of the third set at 8-6 on back-to-back kills from errant IPFW overpasses. IPFW rallied back to take their first two-point lead of the set at 17-15 following a kill and an ace by Darryl Shank. Another errant over pass by IPFW gave Lewis a 20-19 lead when junior Matt Gallik (Evergreen Park, Ill./Brother Rice) tipped it to open space on IPFW's side. Sophomore Jay Petty (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) scored point 21 with a kill on a point set up by another errant IPFW pass. Sophomore Ian Karbiener (Orlando, Fla./Olympia) helped Lewis win the set with aces on points 23 and 25. IPFW hit .500 with only one error in the set but Lewis made up the difference by recording three service aces and earning six points on IPFW service errors.

The Flyers were the first to ask for time in the fourth set after IPFW grabbed a 16-14 lead. The break worked as Lewis finished the match on an 11-6 run. Karbiener had a kill for point 25 after IPFW turned away a pair of Lewis match points.

"We served better in the final three sets," Friend said. "We picked our spots and forced the ball on them."

Lewis was led by Karbiener's 13 kills however where the Flyers really found success was in the middle. Gallik and fellow middle hitter junior Aaron Flick (North Ridgeville, Ohio/St. Edward) combined for 23 kills. Gallik totaled 12 while Flick had 11.

"We used our middles really well tonight," Friend said. "We had Flick with no errors and hitting .550 and Gallik hit .320; that is great."

Lewis was able to pull the match out in four sets after winning at IPFW the last two years in five.

"Anytime you win on the road in conference it's a great win but I thought it was key to win it in four," Friend said.

IPFW falls to 6-6 (0-4 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) while Lewis improves to 10-3 (3-0 MIVA).

Lewis returns to the court on Tuesday with a road MIVA match against the Ramblers of Loyola. First serve is 7 p.m.