ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The No. 7 Lewis men's volleyball team returns home for the first time in a nearly month to take on No. 11 Loyola Chicago in a match-up between the top two teams in the MIVA standings on Friday at 7 p.m.. The Flyers are 16-4 on the season and 7-0 in MIVA play while the Ramblers are 13-6, 6-1 MIVA.
Last Time Out: Lewis extended its winning streak to nine with a straight sets win at New Jersey Institute of Technology on Monday evening. The Flyers outhit the Highlanders .310-to-.180 in the contest recording 34 kills against only 12 errors.
Ryan Coenen (Franklin, WI/Franklin) paced the offense with 11 kills while
Tyler Mitchem (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook HS) added eight kills.
MIVA Player of the Week: Mitchem was named the MIVA Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season and in his career on Tuesday. He hit .750 with seven kills in eight swings in the sweep at Princeton last Saturday and also averaged 2.00 blocks per set. Lewis has won five MIVA Player of the Week awards this season with Mitchem having won three.
Julian Moses (Atlanta, GA/Atlanta International School) was named the Offensive Player of the Week after his performance at Loyola two weeks and
Matt Yoshimoto (Ventura, CA/Adolfo Camarillo) earned Defensive Player of the Week honors on Feb. 12.
A look at the Ramblers: Loyola Chicago enters Friday's match looking to break a three-match losing streak. The Ramblers dropped two five set matches at Grand Canyon last weekend on their spring break trip. Dane Leclair and Will Tischler lead the LUC attack with 13 and 12 kills respectively but the Rambler defense was stymied by GCU's David Kisiel's 17 kill performance.
Series History: The two rivals have played at least twice a year every year dating back to 1996. Loyola holds a 35-24 all-time series lead. Lewis won the first matchup two weeks ago at Gentile Arena in four sets. The Ramblers lead the series at Neil Carey Arena 15-12.
Up Next: The Flyers hit the road for the final time in the regular season as they head to Indiana for the first of two MIVA matches. They will take on Purdue Fort Wayne next Thursday (March 21) at 6 p.m.
