Box Score  / Box Score (pdf)

Santa Barbara, Calif. – Redshirt sophomore Geoff Powell (Claremont, Calif./Claremont) led the No. 5 Lewis University men's volleyball team with 16 kills in the Flyers 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-16, 25-23) loss to No. 15 California Baptist at the UCSB Asics Invitational on Saturday (Jan. 5).
 
The Flyers fall to 0-3 on the season while the Lancers improve to 2-1.
 
“I thought the guys battled well today after playing three matches in 24-hours,” Lewis head men's volleyball coach Dan Friend said. “We learned which areas we are deficient in and what to work on.”
 
“Sometimes you have to take a step back to go forward,” Friend said.
 
The Flyers jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead in the first set with kills from Greg Petty (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) and Eric Fitterer (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville), and blocks from Sean Nelson (East Hampton, Conn./Xavier) and Powell.
 
The squads exchanged the lead 11 times before the Lancers took the lead and won the match 25-22.
 
In the second set, the teams battled to gain momentum. It took a Lewis timeout, down 12-10, to stop California Baptist's swing. After the timeout, Nelson started a Flyers 11-5 run with a kill.
 
The Lancers tied the set at 23-all but the Flyers were able to capitalize on a California Baptist attack error while Powell won the set, 25-23, with a service ace.
 
California Baptist took a commanding 8-3 lead on Lewis in the third set. The Flyers only managed six kills and were unable to rebound after the Lancers built a nine-point lead to win 25-16.
 
With the squads knotted up at 16-all in the fourth set, the teams exchanged three and four-point swings jockeying for the lead. At 20-all, California Baptist took a four-point lead on two kills and two Lewis attack errors.
 
The Flyers scored three straight points on a kill and a block from Nelson and a block by Fitterer to pull within one. The Lancers won the match on the next serve getting a kill from Levi Cabral to win the set 25-23 and the match.
 
Guilherme Koepp led California Baptist with 20 kills and four blocks while Cabral added 18 kills and two blocks.
 
Lewis stays on the road to take on Brigham Young on Friday (Jan. 11) and Saturday (Jan. 12) at 7 PM MT in Provo, Utah.