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ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – No. 5 Lewis men's volleyball won their second home match of the season on Friday (Jan. 16) with a non-conference 3-1 (25-27, 25-16, 25-21, 25-20) decision over Harvard at Neil Carey Arena.

The first set featured 12 ties and three lead changes with Harvard taking the opening game in extra points. The Crimson led 22-20 before a kill by senior Greg Petty (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) and a Harvard bad set tied the set at 22. Lewis turned away two set points before a Harvard block gave the Crimson point 27 and the set.

The rest of the match had just four lead changes.
 
The Flyers had seven multiple-point runs in the second set to cruise to the nine-point win.
 
Lewis took leads of 14-9 and 19-16 in the third set, only to see the Harvard tie the score at 19. But three straight Lewis kills followed, including two by senior Geoff Powell (Claremont, Calif./Claremont). It helped put the set in the Flyers' column.

The Flyers took control early in the fourth set, using a 5-0 run to take a 9-3 advantage. Powell had an ace for point nine.

"They run a faster offense than even we do," Lewis head coach Dan Friend said. "As the match progressed we were able to adjust, get more digs and then turn those plays into points."
 
Lewis out-hit Harvard .402 to .264. The Flyers were led offensively by Powell's 17 kills and .452 attack percentage. He also added nine digs. Sophomore Eric Fitterer (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) recorded 14 kills. Senior Greg Petty (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) contributed 11 kills. Junior Scott Fifer (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) dished out 47 assists. Senior Lucas Yanez (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs) had a team-high 11 digs.

Lewis improves to 4-1 while Harvard falls to 0-1. The Flyers hit the road next weekend. First up is a match at Saint Francis (Pa.) on Friday (Jan. 23). But first Lewis will play their annual Alumni Match on Saturday (Jan. 17) at 6 p.m. at Neil Carey Arena.