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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Lewis' furious comeback attempt for a 2016 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association title came up short on Saturday (April 23). The 12th in the nation and No. 4 seed Flyers fell 3-2 (25-18, 25-17, 23-25, 17-25, 15-12) at No. 2 in the nation and No. 1 seed Ohio State. It was Lewis' fifth consecutive trip to the MIVA title match.

The first two sets were all Ohio State. It seemed Buckeyes were on their way to a MIVA title. But not so fast. Even after Ohio State took a 13-11 lead in the third with back-to-back aces, the Flyers didn't back down. They tied it at 15 on an ace by junior John Hodul (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg). A kill by junior Trevor Weiskircher (Loves Park, Ill./Boylan Catholic) followed to put Lewis up 16-15. Later in the set, down 22-20, Lewis finished the frame on a 5-3 run to win the set. Senior Scott Fifer (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) had an ace to tie it at 22. Freshman Julian Moses (Atlanta, Ga./Atlanta International School) had a kill for point 25.

Lewis controlled the fourth set, out-hitting the Buckeyes .333 to .057. Perinar had five kills in the set.

"In set four we really took off and capitalized on some errors from Ohio State, " Lewis head coach Dan Friend said. 

Lewis' only lead in the fifth set came at 1-0, but the Flyers tied it six times. They rallied from a 9-6 deficit to tie it for the final time at 11 on a kill by Perinar. But the Buckeyes put it away with a 4-1 run to take the match. Christian Franceschi found the sideline on an ace for point 15.

"We put our selves in a position in the fifth game," Friend said. "We weren't bad in the fifth, we just made a couple errors."

Ohio State out-hit Lewis .293 to .260. The Flyers out-blocked Ohio State 10-7. The Buckeyes held a 45-38 edge in digs. Lewis committed 25 service errors to Ohio State's 21.

Perinar finished with 17 kills and 7 digs. Moses had 13 kills, six digs and three blocks. Senior Bobby Walsh (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel) finished with eight kills and six blocks (one solo) in his final match as a Flyer. Walsh and Perinar were named to the 2016 MIVA All-Tournament Team.

Lewis played 13 different Flyers on Saturday night.

"We've been doing that all year long," Friend said of using the bench. "We've been finding ways to put guys in position to wins us games and matches. Tonight was an accumulation of which we've done all year."

The Flyers finish the 2016 campaign 19-13. Ohio State moves to 28-3 with their 20th consecutive win.