The second ranked (American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll) Lewis University men's volleyball team will take on non-conference opponents Saint Francis (PA) on Friday (January 23) and No. 15 Penn State on Saturday (January 24). Both road contests will start at 6 p.m. CT. The Flyers enter this weekend's contests with a record of 4-1, while both the Red Flash (0-6) and the Nittany Lions (0-4) search for their first win of the season. Friday's match with Saint Francis will feature live stats and video, provided by SFU. Saturday's contest with Penn State will have live stats. Those links can be found on www.LewisFlyers.com

LAST TIME WE MET SAINT FRANCIS – Then ranked No. 10 Lewis earned a 3-1 victory over SFU on March 21, 2014. Senior Eric Fitterer (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) led the Lewis offense hitting .615 with 10 kills and two errors on 13 attempts. The Flyers out-hit the Red Flash .363 to .071to capture the win at Neil Carey Arena.

LAST TIME WE MET PENN STATE – Then ranked No. 10 Lewis fell to No. 12 Penn State 3-1 in the NCAA Tournament on April 30, 2014 at Loyola's Gentile Arena (Chicago, Ill.). Senior Eric Fitterer (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) led the Flyer offense with a .360 hitting percentage, collecting 13 kills on 25 attempts, as well as four digs and three block assists.

IN THE NATIONAL RANKS – With losses by No. 2 Pepperdine, No. 3 UC Santa Barbara, and No. 4 UCLA in the past week, the Lewis University men's volleyball team moved from No. 5 to No. 2 in the AVCA Coaches Poll while also picking up wins over Carthage and Harvard. This marks the teams highest ranking in the Dan Friend era.

HITTING THE FLOOR – The Flyers enter this weekend's play ranked fourth in the nation in hitting percentage (.342) and second in the conference behind Ball State (.370).

ASSISTING THE KILL – Lewis University places ninth in the nation and second in the conference in both assists per set (12.28) and kills per set (13.28). Loyola leads the MIVA in both assists per set (13.60) and kills per set (14.60).

FITTS THE BILL – Senior Eric Fitterer (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) is averaging 4.00 kills per set thanks to a .382 hitting percentage on the young season. He entered the season averaging 2.32 kills per set and hitting .245 over his first three seasons.