ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis' men's volleyball team returns home this week to take on Quincy and Lindenwood in a pair of Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) matches. The Flyers and Hawks square off on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and then Lewis will host the Lions on Saturday at 5 p.m.
Last Time Out – The Flyers picked up a pair of key road MIVA victories last weekend sweeping No. 14 Ohio State last Thursday and then defeated Ball State in four sets on Saturday.
Ryan Coenen (Franklin, WI/Franklin) led the charge for Lewis averaging 5.00 kills per set while hitting .483 on the weekend. He was rewarded for his performances as he was named the MIVA Offensive Player of the Week and the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week.
Career Record Books – Coenen continues to move up the ladder on the school's all-time kills list as he has 1,211 which is sixth all-time in the rally scoring era and ninth overall. He is 39 kills behind Jeff Soler (2002-05) for fifth in the school record books in the rally scoring era and eighth overall. Coenen ranks third all-time in school history in the rally scoring with his 3.46 kills per set and ninth overall. He is also fifth all-time in service aces with 115 while
Kyle Bugée (Cupertino, Calif./Homestead) moved into the top 10 all-time with his 91 service aces.
MIVA Leaders – Lewis has fourplayers ranked in the top five in MIVA statistical categories. Bugée is tied for the league lead in aces per set with 0.51. Coenen is second in kills (172) and kills per set with 3.91.
Tyler Mitchem (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook HS) is second in the conference in hitting percentage at .481 and is fifth in blocks per set at 1.07.
Kevin Kauling (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) is second in the league in assists per set with 10.00.
Polling Place – The Flyers moved into the top five in this week's NVA/AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll which was released on Monday. Lewis has been ranked in 160 straight polls. The last poll without the Flyers ranked in it was Jan. 31, 2011.
About Quincy – The Hawks upset ninth ranked Purdue Fort Wayne in five sets at Pepsi Arena this past Saturday. Quincy dropped the first two sets before coming back to win the final three to pick up their first MIVA win since April of 2017 when it also beat the Mastodons. Omari Wheeler led the Hawks with 18 kills and 14 digs while Michael Ladner collected 13 kills and Adam Meyer finished with 10 blocks.
Series vs. Quincy – Wednesday's match marks the 34th meeting between Lewis and Quincy since 2005 with the Flyers holding a 32-1 advantage and have won 30 straight including all three matches last season.
About Lindenwood – The Lions (9-4, 2-0 MIVA) are riding a six-game winning streak heading into Thursday's contest at McKendree and sit atop the MIVA standings. Last weekend, Lindenwood defeated Purdue Fort Wayne in four sets and then defeated Loyola in five sets. The Lions took the first two sets 29-27 and 25-17 but the Ramblers came back to win the next two 25-20 and 25-16. Lindenwood held off the reverse sweep by winning the fifth set 15-9. Diego Negron led the Lions with 23 kills in the contest while Jeremy Kirch and AJ Lewis had 11 kills apiece.
Series vs. Lindenwood – Saturday's contest is the 22nd meeting all-time between Lewis and Lindenwood with the Flyers holding a 19-2 advantage dating back to 2006. Lewis currently owns a 14-match winning streak in the series including both meetings last season.
Up Next – The Flyers head to Fort Wayne, Ind., next Thursday to take on No. 14 Purdue Fort Wayne at 6:30 p.m. (CST). Lewis is back at home on Saturday hosting Loyola at 7 p.m.
