FAIRFAX, Va. – Lewis' sixth ranked men's volleyball team extended its winning streak to three matches with a 3-0 victory over Barton on Friday evening in the Uvaldo Acosta Invitational hosted by George Mason in Fairfax, Va. The Flyers improve to 6-3 while the Bulldogs fall to 3-1.
Lewis never trailed in the first two sets. The Flyers opened the match with three straight points and led by as many as seven points in the frame on their way to the 25-18 victory. Lewis hit .650 (13 kills-0 errors-20 chances) in the stanza.
Ryan Coenen (Franklin, WI/Franklin) had four kills in the set while
TJ Murray (Barrington, IL/Barrington HS) added three and
Tyler Mitchem (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook HS) and
Dalen Instenes (Racine, WI/William Horlick) had two kills apiece.
The Flyers took another early lead in the middle set on its way to a 25-13 victory. Lewis used an 8-2 run midway through the set to extend its lead from 10-8 to 18-10. That lead grew to as many as 12 points when Mitchem blocked Nicolo Mancin to end the second set.
The third set was the tightest of the match with seven ties and four lead changes. The Flyers led by as many as three in the set but Barton responded with an 8-2 run to take its largest lead of the match at 21-18 on a kill from Angelos Mandilaris. Lewis countered with five straight points of its own to regain the lead at 23-21. Coenen served three aces in that run. The Bulldogs got to within 23-22 but the Flyers scored the final two points to close out the match highlighted by Instenes ace at match point.
Lewis hit .532 (39 kills-6 errors-62 total attacks). Coenen finished with a match-high 12 kills and six aces. Mitchem and
Kyle Bugée (Cupertino, CA, Homestead) had seven kills apiece.
Kevin Kauling (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) had 31 assists and four digs.
Marty Jepsen (Chicago, Ill./Marist High School) also had four digs.
The Bulldogs were held to a .180 attack percentage (20 kills-11 errors-50 total attacks) in the contest. Adrian Iglesias led Barton with eight kills while Oscar Fiorentino had 16 assists and Mancin had eight digs.
The Flyers return to the court on Saturday (Feb. 1) at 6 p.m. (CST) in a non-conference match at No. 12 George Mason.
