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ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – A kill by junior Bobby Walsh (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel) on match point helped No. 4 Lewis men's volleyball defeat No. 2 Loyola 3-1 (22-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-23) on Wednesday (April 1) night in a crucial Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association match at Neil Carey Arena.

The win moves Lewis to 20-2 (11-1 MIVA) and drops the defending national champion Ramblers to 18-2 (10-2 MIVA). Both of Loyola's losses have come at the hands of Lewis, giving the Flyers the crucial head-to-head tiebreaker between the two clubs.

Lewis dominated at the net, out-blocking the Ramblers 18-7. Walsh totaled a match-high eight blocks (one solo). Fellow middle blocker sophomore Jacob Schmiegelt (Lombard, Ill./Willowbrook) added seven blocks.
 
"I thought in games 2-3-4 you saw us do a fantastic job of finishing with 18 blocks and putting up four hands as much has possible," Lewis head coach Dan Friend said. "We also created pressure from the service line. We put service pressure on them and got them out of system a little bit."

The standing room only crowd of 1,226 was treated to a high-energy contest throughout. Loyola won the opening set before the Flyers bounced back in set two to tie the match.

The third set saw the Flyers take a 10-4 lead, seemingly on their way to an easy 2-1 lead. But back came the Ramblers. Loyola scored two straight points seven times to eventually grab a 22-20 lead. Senior Eric Fitterer (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) went back to serve and helped ignite a game ending 5-0 run for the Flyers that saw Loyola record four hitting errors in the stretch. Lewis won the third game with only six kills in the entire set.

It was a similar story in the fourth set. Lewis looked to be in control after taking a 19-13 advantage only to see Loyola score three straight points three times to grab a 22-21 lead. Lewis took a timeout, the final for the Flyers in the set, and it worked as a Loyola service error followed on the next point. Fitterer had a kill for point 23, but a Lewis service error tied the score at 23. The Flyers went to Fitterer on the next point and his kill gave Lewis match point at 24-23. Fitterer was Lewis' next server and with the match on the line delivered a serve that resulted in a Loyola overpass. Walsh jumped on the errant pass and put it down on Loyola's side for a kill and point 25.
 
Lewis out-hit the Ramblers .248 to .154. Senior Greg Petty (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) led the Lewis offensive attack with 14 kills. Fitterer finished with 11 kills.
 
"I think we saw a lot of grit from the guys tonight," Friend said.

Thomas Jaeschke led Loyola with 19 kills and 14 digs.

The Flyers return to the court on April 10 at Lindenwood. First serve in St. Charles, Mo. is set for 7 p.m. in the MIVA contest.