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CHICAGO – No. 13 Lewis men's volleyball saw their comeback attempt finish just short on Tuesday (March 29) evening as the Flyers fell 3-2 (25-19, 25-19, 20-25, 21-25, 16-14) to No. 12 Loyola in a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association contest at Gentile Arena.
Lewis struggled offensively through the first two sets, recording a combined 10 kills in the two frames. The third set was another story. Lewis pounded down 16 kills with only two hitting errors in the set. Freshman
Julian Moses (Atlanta, Ga./Atlanta International School) had six kills in the frame. Lewis sided out 20-of-21 opportunities. The only time they didn't side out in the set was the first point of the game, meaning Loyola didn't score back-to-back points in the game.
The fourth set saw Lewis' offensive success continue. The Flyers never trailed after grabbing a 9-6 lead thanks to back-to-back kills by junior
Trevor Weiskircher (Loves Park, Ill./Boylan Catholic). Loyola tightened it late, forcing Lewis to take a timeout at 23-21. But out of the break the Flyers went to Weiskircher once again for two more kills to force a fifth set.
The final set had 10 ties and three lead changes. The largest lead for either team was two points. Lewis was up 8-6 and Loyola took a timeout. The match seemed to shift at that point. The Ramblers scored seven of the next 10 points to go up 13-11. It was 13-12 Loyola when it looked like the Flyers were going to get a chance to swing to tie the score. But Loyola's Collin Mahan found the line on a perfectly placed shot from the back row. Up 14-13, Loyola went to Trevor Novotny for the match but his attempt went wide. However a missed serve for the Flyers and a Loyola block followed to give the Ramblers the match.
Loyola held a .239 to .202 hitting percentage edge over the Flyers. Lewis led 14-8 in blocks. Senior
Bobby Walsh (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel) finished with seven blocks and six kills for the Flyers. Moses added a team-high nine digs and six blocks to go with his team-high 14 kills. Weiskircher totaled 12 kills.
Lewis falls to 15-12 (8-6 MIVA). Loyola improves to 16-6 (9-4 MIVA). The Flyers return to the court on Friday (April 8) against Ball State at Neil Carey Arena.
