ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's ninth ranked men's volleyball team set a single match record with 15 service aces in its sweep of Maryville in the season opener for both teams on Tuesday evening at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers move to 1-0 while the Saints drop to 0-1.
Lewis jumped out to a 5-1 lead to begin the match behind three kills from
Tyler Mitchem (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook HS) and one apiece from
Tyler Morgan (Dike, Iowa/New Hartford) and
Cole Brillhart (York, Pa./Northeastern). Maryville got as close as three when the Flyers seized control thanks to a 10-4 run. Lewis had six kills and three aces during that run.
Carter Burzlaff (Elgin, Ill./Bartlett High School) had two of those kills. The Saints fought back to within six after an ace from Mason Mortimer to make it 18-12 but the Flyers closed the set scoring seven of the final eight points to take the opening frame 25-13.
Lewis kept the pressure on the second set racing out to an early 10-point lead and led by as many as 15 points in the second set at 24-9. The Flyers had 10 kills against five errors to hit .208 in the second stanza but recorded six aces and took advantage of six attack errors by Maryville. Mitchem and Brillhart accounted for seven of the team's 10 kills in the frame.
Lewis raced out to another early lead in the final set as it led by nine after a block by Burzlaff and
Joe Kenzinger (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice). The Saints countered scoring four of the next six points to cut the Flyer lead to seven but wouldn't get any closer as Lewis proceeded to go on a 7-3 run to build a 20-9 lead after a block from Kenzinger and
Christian Prayer (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway North). Maryville got to within 10 but wouldn't get any closer as the Flyers scored five of the final seven points to win 25-12 and complete the sweep.
Lewis finished the match hitting .516 recording 39 kills against seven errors in 62 chances. Brillhart finished with a match and career-high 10 kills and added a career-high five aces. Mitchem and Burzlaff had eight kills apiece.
Kevin Kauling (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) finished with 27 assists and
Connor Keating (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) had a match-high eight digs.
The Flyer defense held the Saints to a negative .018 hitting percentage with 13 kills against 14 errors in 55 swings. Mason Mortimer led Maryville with five kills while Jacob Fischer, Tate Sandvig and Luke Van Handel had two kills apiece. Cameron Chambers had eight assists and Mortimer and Sydney Mathias had four digs each.
Lewis continues its homestand on Friday (Jan. 14) evening hosting New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) at 7 p.m. at Neil Carey Arena.
