ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The ninth ranked Lewis University men's volleyball plays four of its next five matches at home beginning this Thursday when it takes on the fourth ranked and two-time defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes at 7 p.m. The homestand continues on Saturday when the Flyers (9-4, 3-1 MIVA) take on the Bearcats from McKendree at 7 p.m.
Thursday night's match will be the annual Black Out match with everyone encouraged to wear black to the match and Saturday night's match will be Adidas Night with Adidas headbands being given away.
Lewis had its eight match winning streak snapped last Friday in a 3-0 loss at Ball State but bounced back to sweep the 14
th ranked Fort Wayne Mastodons last Saturday in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Ryan Coenen (Franklin, WI/Franklin) and
Tyler Mitchem (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) paced the Flyer attack over the weekend combing for 38 of the team's 68 kills in the two contests.
Matt Yoshimoto (Ventura, CA/Adolfo Camarillo) averaged 8.8 assists per set while Mitchem had an average of 2.00 blocks per set and
Michael Simmons (Aurora, IL/Waubonsie Valley) averaged 3.17 digs per set.
On the season, Coenen continues to lead the way on the offensive side of the ball averaging 3.39 kills a set while
Mitch Perinar (Channahon, IL/Minooka) is contributing 2.36 kills/set and Mitchem is adding 2.08 kills a set. Yoshimoto is handing out 9.05 assists per set. On the defensive side of the ball, Mitchem and
TJ Murray (Barrington, IL/Barrington) are averaging 1.24 and 1.12 blocks per set while
Michael Simmons (Aurora, IL/Waubonsie Valley) leads the way on the backline averaging 2.33 digs a set.
ABOUT OHIO STATE: The Buckeyes enter Thursday's contest with a record of 11-2, 4-0 MIVA and are on an eight-match winning streak after sweeping Lindenwood and Quincy at home this past weekend.
Against the Lions, OSU hit .385 for the match and had three players recorded double figures in kills led by Reese Devilbiss with 14 while Jake Hanes added 13 and Maxime Hervoir finished with 12. Sanil Thomas handed out 35 assists and served a pair of aces. In the match against Quincy on Saturday, the Buckeyes didn't trail until the third set but it was short lived as they came back to complete the sweep with a 25-15 victory.
ABOUT MCKENDREE: The Bearcats improved to 6-6, 3-1 MIVA after a four set win over Quincy on Monday evening in Lebanon, Ill. McKendree held the Hawks to a .189 hitting percentage in the match, while hitting over .300 as a team. Patrick Ross led the Bearcats with 15 kills while Jared Wilcox had a team-high 15 digs.
For the season, Ross leads the offensive attack averaging 2.80 kills per set while Wilcox is averaging 2.66 per set, Brendan Schmidt is averaging 2.51 per set and Nolan Rueter is contributing 2.47 per set. Pasquale Fiduccia quarterbacks the offense and is dishing out 10.3 assists per set. Schmidt leads the way on the front line with 1.11 blocks per set and along the back line Zach Thompson is averaging 2.15 digs per set.
