Complete Game Notes (PDF)

No. 1 in the nation Lewis men's volleyball (26-2) hosts No. 4 Loyola (24-2) on Friday (May 1) at Neil Carey Arena in a 7 p.m. first serve in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Championship match. Lewis is the top seed in the MIVA Tournament. Loyola is the second seed. Live Stats / Watch Live

VS THE RAMBLERS – The Flyers won both meetings against Loyola this year. Lewis won 25-21, 22-25, 25-22, 29-27 on March 9 at Loyola. Lewis' 7-4 advantage in aces helped them to the win over Loyola. Senior Eric Fitterer (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) had a season-high six and ended the match with back-to-back aces. The Flyers' win snapped 40-match win streak for the Ramblers. The second time the Flyers met up with the Ramblers, the Flyers won 22-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-23 on April 1 at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers out-hit the Ramblers .248 to .154. The Flyers also out-blocked Loyola 18 to 7.

THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM – Friday's contest will mark the third straight season Lewis and Loyola have played in the MIVA Championship. The Flyers fell 3-2 in the 2013 title game 23-25, 25-23, 10-25, 25-22, 15-7.  Eric Fitterer (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) led the Flyers with 16 kills in the match. The Flyers also met up with the Ramblers last year at Gentile Arena in the championship. Lewis fell to Loyola in four sets (25-16, 27-25, 21-25, 25-21). Loyola out-dug the Flyers 46 to 24 however the Flyers out-blocked the Ramblers 15.5 to 3.

CALL IT THE RONALD REAGAN ERA – The last time the same teams played in three consecutive MIVA Championships was 1981-89 when Ball State and Ohio State played in nine consecutive title games.

08 WAS GREAT – The Flyers will need to win on Friday if they want to sweep the season series with the Ramblers. The last time Lewis went undefeated against Loyola in a season was 2008 when the Flyers took a pair of contests.

TOURNAMENT TIME – The Flyers are 12-6 under Dan Friend in MIVA Tournament contests. Friend's squads are 1-2 in the MIVA Championship. Lewis won in five sets in 2012 at Ohio State before losing to Loyola the last two seasons.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE #1? – Lewis earned the No. 1 ranking in the AVCA NCAA DI-II Top 15 Poll on Monday (April 20). It is the first time Lewis has been the No. 1 team in the nation during the season since 1999. This is also the first time Lewis has played home games as the No. 1 team in the nation.

POLLING PLACE – The Flyers have been ranked in the AVCA Top 15 Poll for 83 consecutive polls. That is a total of 220 calendar weeks. The last poll without the Flyers ranked on it was Jan. 31, 2011.

GREAT WALSH OF LEWIS – Bobby Walsh (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel) leads the nation in blocks per set with 1.57 per frame.

BLOCK PARTY - As a team, Lewis is ranked number one nationally in blocks per set with 3.44. No other team is averaging 3.00 blocks per set.

KEEP THE BROOMS AT HOME – It has been two full years since the Flyers have been swept in a match. Lewis' last loss in three sets came April 13, 2013 at IPFW. It is a streak of 61 consecutive matches without being swept.

ALL-CONFERENCE CALL – Geoff Powell (Claremont, Calif./Claremont), Greg Petty (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North), Bobby Walsh (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel), Lucas Yanez (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs), Eric Fitterer (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) were named to the 2015 All-MIVA First Team. Scott Fifer (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) was named to the All-MIVA Second Team. It is the first time in MIVA history five players from the same team have made the All-MIVA First Team. The Flyers account for half of the 10 All-MIVA First Team honorees. Lewis' six total All-MIVA selections are the most in a single season in program history.

IT'S A MAJOR AWARD – Lewis' head coach Dan Friend was named the 2015 MIVA Coach of the Year. It is the first time in Friend's career he has earned the honor.

HOW SWEEP IT IS – Lewis has 17 sweeps this season including two in the MIVA Tournament. It breaks the single-season high during the Dan Friend era for three-set wins. Lewis won 16 matches in three sets in 2012.

ONCE, TWICE… SIX TIMES – Lewis earned six MIVA Player of the Week awards this season.

HOME COOKING – A win at home this Friday would give Lewis a 17-0 record at home this season. This mark would best the previous 2012 home record of 16-0, and set an all-time record for most wins at home, including postseason.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE – Lewis is 57-5 (.919) at Neil Carey Arena since 2012. The 2012 season was the freshman year for this squad's senior class meaning the seniors have only lost five times at home in their careers.

ALREADY A RECORD – The fewest losses by a Lewis team in program history is the 1996's 31-5 mark. Lewis can only add two more losses to their ledger this year, in the MIVA and NCAA Tournaments. This means the 2015 team will set a record for fewest losses in a season no matter what happens in the postseason.

THEY CALL IT A STREAK – The Flyers' loss at Ohio State earlier this season ended a 13-match win streak for the Flyers. It matched the longest win streak during the Dan Friend era. The 2013 Flyers also won 13 matches in a row. Lewis enters Friday night's match with Loyola on a 11 match win streak.

A WIN AND... – Should Lewis defeat Loyola on Friday night, the Flyers would capture their fifth MIVA Championship in program history. It would give the Flyers a berth in the NCAA Tournament. A loss to Loyola and Lewis will hope to earn an at-large bid. The NCAA Tournament field will be announced Saturday (May 2) at 12 p.m. CT. Stanford hosts the men's volleyball National Collegiate Championship next week. The play in games will be played Tuesday (May 5). The semifinals are set for Thursday (May 7). The NCAA Championship will be played Saturday (May 9).

PLEASE NOTE – For All MIVA Tournament games, Lewis faculty and staff will be required to buy a ticket.