ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis' fifth ranked men's volleyball team dropped a Top 15 match to No. 14 Penn State 3-2 on Saturday evening at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers fall to 3-3 on the season while the Nittany Lions improve to 2-2.
Lewis broke an 18-all tie in the opening set with a 5-1 run to build a 23-19 lead and forced Penn State to take a timeout. The Nittany Lions scored three of the next four points to close within 24-22 before the Flyers closed it out a service error from Brett Wildman.
The second set featured 15 ties, had four lead changes and needed extra time. Each side had multiple opportunities to close out the set before Lewis was finally able to on a kill from
Ryan Coenen (Franklin, WI/Franklin) and a block from
Dalen Instenes (Racine, WI/William Horlick) and
TJ Murray (Barrington, IL/Barrington HS) to win the set 38-36.
Penn State dominated the third set hitting .556 with 12 kills against only two errors in 18 chances. The Nittany Lions cruised control of the set with a 9-3 run to extend its lead to 18-10 on their way to a 25-14 victory.
Lewis fell behind by four points midway through set four but rallied back to the set at 15 on a block from Coenen and Murray. The next six points went back and forth until Penn State seized control scoring five straight points to grab a 23-18 lead. The Flyers wouldn't get closer than four points the rest of the set in a 25-20 loss.
The fifth set was back-and-forth with six ties and two lead changes. It was tied at 12 when the Nittany Lions broke the tie on a kill from Bobby Wilden. They then got to set point after a Flyer attack error. Wilden then ended the match with his 16th kill.
Lewis finished the match with a hitting percentage of .287 (58 kills, 19 errors, 136 total chances). Coenen paced the Flyer attack with 21 kills while Kyle Bugée added 13 kills.
Kevin Kauling (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) distributed 45 assists and Instenes finished with 10 digs.
The Nittany Lions recorded an attack percentage of .286 (66 kills, 26 errors, 140 total chances). They had three players reach double figures in kills led by Brett Wildman with 17 kills while Wilden and Calvin Mende had 16 kills each. Cole Bogner had 51 assists while Will Bantle had 19 digs.
Lewis continues its four match homestand next Friday hosting Urbana at 7 p.m.
