ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – No. 7 in the nation Lewis men's volleyball (24-5) hosts No. 10 Loyola (21-7) on Saturday (April 20) at Neil Carey Arena in a 7 p.m. first serve in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Championship match. Lewis is the top seed while Loyola is the second seed in the MIVA Tournament.
VS THE RAMBLERS – The Flyers won both meetings against Loyola this year. Lewis won 26-28, 25-17, 25-23, 25-17 on March 1 at Loyola. The Flyers 11-9 advantage in blocks helped them win over the Ramblers.
Julian Moses (Atlanta, GA/Atlanta International School) and
Ryan Coenen (Franklin, WI/Franklin) combined for 30 kills in that contest. The second time Lewis met up with Loyola, The Flyers won 25-19, 23-25, 26-24, 25-19 on March 15 at Neil Carey Arena. Lewis outhit the Ramblers .320 to .252. The Flyers had a 6-2 advantage in aces in that contest.
MIVA CHAMPIONSHIP – Saturday night's contest marks Lewis' sixth appearance in the MIVA Championship match since 2012 and it's the fourth time they've matched up against Loyola. The Flyers won the MIVA title in 2012 defeating Ohio State in five sets. Lewis and Loyola met in the MIVA Championship contest three straight years (2013-15) with the Ramblers winning all three of those contests. The Flyers lost at Ohio State in five sets in 2016.
SEASON SERIES – With a win on Saturday, the Flyers will sweep the season series against Loyola for the second time in three years. Lewis won both meetings in five sets in 2017.
TOURNAMENT TIME – The Flyers are 18-10 under
Dan Friend in MIVA Tournament contests. Friend's squads are 1-4 in the MIVA Championship.
POLLING PLACE – The Flyers have been ranked in the AVCA Top 15 poll for 151 consecutive polls. The last poll without the Flyers ranked in it was Jan. 31, 2011.
NATIONAL LEADERS – Lewis has two players leading the nation in NCAA statistical categories.
Matt Yoshimoto (Ventura, CA/Adolfo Camarillo) leads the country in aces per set with 0.657 while
Tyler Mitchem (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook HS) has a hitting percentage of .499 which is tops in the nation. As a team, the Flyers are second nationally in aces per set with 1.92. Lewis is also ranked third in the country in opponent hitting percentage at .215 and fifth in blocks per set with 2.48.
ACING THE COMPETITION – With his three aces in the win over McKendree on Wednesday Yoshimoto became Lewis' single season record holder with 65 passing Bart Bachorksi who had 63 aces in 1997. Yoshimoto already holds the career record for aces in the rally scoring with 144 and needs 10 aces to pass Victor Rivera for the top spot in the overall record book.
HOW SWEEP IT IS – Lewis has 17 sweeps this season including two in the MIVA Tournament. It ties the single-season high during the Friend era for three-set wins. The Flyers won 17 matches in three sets in 2015.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE – Lewis is 109-19 (.851) at Neil Carey Arena since 2012.
ONCE, TWICE….SIX TIMES – Lewis earned six MIVA Player of the Week awards this season.
A WIN AND… - Should Lewis defeat Loyola on Saturday night, the Flyers would capture their fifth MIVA Championship in program history and would give Lewis a berth in the NCAA Tournament. A loss to Loyola and the Flyers will hope to earn an at-large bid. The NCAA Tournament field will be announced on Sunday (April 21) at 12 p.m. CT. Long Beach State hosts the men's volleyball National Collegiate Championship in two weeks. The opening round game will be played on Thursday (April 25) at a campus site. The second round opening matches will be played either Sunday (April 28) or Tuesday (April 30). The semifinals are set for Thursday (May 2) and the NCAA Championship will be played Saturday (May 4).
