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STANFORD, Calif. – Behind 15.0 blocks, No. 9 Lewis men's volleyball earned their second sweep of a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation squad in as many matches by defeating No. 10 Stanford 25-21, 25-19, 25-19 on Friday (Jan. 9) evening at the AVCA College Showcase. The Cardinal finished last season as national runner-up.

Lewis never trailed in the match as the contest featured just six ties. Lewis took leads of 8-4, 10-5 and 8-4, in the first, second and third sets, respectively. While Stanford stayed within a handful of points in all three sets, each time Lewis had an answer to prevent Stanford from getting back in the match.

Senior Eric Fitterer (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) was all over the box score. He hit .636 with 15 kills and only one error on 22 swings. He added team highs with nine blocks (two solo) and eight digs.
 
"Eric was dealing with an ankle and he did a great job rehabbing it," Lewis head coach Dan Friend said. "He came in and was great. He really balanced us out."
 
Junior Bobby Walsh (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel) added seven blocks.

"The key with the blocks was the pressure we put on from the service line," Friend said. "If we do that it puts us in position to block balls. We are a great blocking team, it's a skill we do well and this group executed."
 
The Flyers recorded three aces and just five errors while Stanford had one ace and nine errors.

Senior Greg Petty (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) finished with 15 kills and a .591 hitting percentage. Senior Geoff Powell (Claremont, Calif./Claremont) totaled 10 kills. Junior Scott Fifer (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) recorded 40 assists as he ran a Lewis offense which hit .393 and averaged exactly 15 kills per set. Stanford hit at a .258 clip.

The Cardinal drop to 1-1 with the loss. Lewis swept No. 8 UC Irvine on Monday in Lewis' first match of the season and is now 2-0. The Flyers will play No. 6 BYU on Saturday in Lewis' second and final match of the AVCA College Showcase at Stanford.