ROMEOVILLE, Ill. Lewis University's fifth ranked men's volleyball team begins a four match homestand beginning with top ranked Hawaii on Friday at 7 p.m. The homestand continues on Saturday with the 'Playing For Preemies' match against No. 14 Penn State at 7 p.m.

Last Time Out – Lewis wrapped its road trip to the west coast with a straight sets win at UC San Diego last Saturday. Ryan Coenen (Franklin, WI/Franklin) led the Flyers with 13 kills and seven digs while Tyler Mitchem (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook HS) and Kyle Bugée (Cupertino, CA, Homestead) had seven kills each.

Playing For Preemies – Saturday night's contest against Penn State will be the 'Playing For Preemies' match at Neil Carey Arena. All fans are encouraged to wear purple in recognition of Premature Birth Awareness. Lewis head men's volleyball coach Dan Friend and his wife Lewis head women's volleyball coach Lorelee Smith welcomed their daughter Rae Analyn Friend (1 lb., 8 oz., 12 inches) into the world on June 5, 2016.

All ticket proceeds will go directly towards the Rae Strong Foundation. Donations will also be accepted. If you cannot make the match and would like to donate or to purchase a t-shirt, please click here.

Prior to the start of the match Mason Netzler who was born at 29 weeks will be recognized along with his parents Brian and Rachel Netzler

Polling Place – Lewis moved into a tie for fifth along with Long Beach State in this week's AVCA D I-II Top 15 Poll. The Flyers have been ranked in the AVCA Top 15 Poll for 155 consecutive polls. The last poll without Lewis ranked in it was Jan. 31, 2011.

Acing The Competition – The Flyers are second in the nation in service aces per set with 2.60. Lewis has three players ranked in the top 25 nationally in aces led by Bugée who is third with 0.93 aces per set. Dalen Instenes (Racine, WI/William Horlick) is 15th averaging 0.62 per set and Coenen is 22nd with 0.50 aces per set.

Scouting Hawaii – No. 1 Hawaii completed a record-breaking season in 2019 with a national runner-up finish and a 28-3 overall record. The Rainbow Warriors began the season ranked No. 1 nationally for the fourth time in program history, however, it marks the first time they've been the preseason poll favorite since the AVCA created the preseason poll in 2007. Hawaii is 5-0 on the season and has swept all of its opponents. Colton Cowell and Rado Parapunov lead the Rainbow Warrios with 3.70 and 3.42 kills per set respectively while setter Jakob Thelle has racked up 113 assists.

Series vs. Hawaii – Friday's contest marks the 14th meeting all-time between Lewis and Hawaii with the Rainbow Warriors having won 12 of the first 13 contests dating back to 1997. This will be the fourth time in the last five years the two sides have met. Last season, Hawaii defeated the Flyers in four sets in the semifinal round of the NCAA Championships.

Scouting Penn State – The No. 14 Nittany Lions opened their season last weekend dropping back-to-back matches at third ranked BYU in straight sets. Penn State was picked to finish second in the EIVA Preseason Coaches Poll after ending last season with a 15-15 record and 10-4 in the EIVA. The Nittany Lions return nine players who started at least five matches from last season. Brett Wildman leads the team with 3.33 kills per set and has a hitting percentage of .325 (20 kills-7 errors-40 attempts).

Series vs. Penn State – The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series with Lewis 18-13, however, the Flyers have won seven of the last 10 including four straight. A win on Saturday for Lewis would match its longest winning streak in the series at five matches. Last season the Flyers swept PSU at Neil Carey Arena on Feb. 1.

Up Next – The four match homestand continues next Friday with Urbana (Ohio) coming to town. First serve at Neil Carey Arena is set for 7 p.m.