HONOLULU, Hawai'i – Lewis University's men's volleyball team got a career performance from
John Davis (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) but it wouldn't be enough as fourth ranked Hawai'I defeated the Flyers in four sets on Saturday evening at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. Lewis drops to 10-8 while the Rainbow Warriors improve to 16-3.
The Flyers fell behind 5-0 to begin the match but countered with a 7-2 run to even the set at seven after an ace from
Max Roquet (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston). Hawai'i answered Lewis' run with a 7-2 one of its own to regain its five-point cushion. The Flyers fought back to within 16-15 after an ace from Davis but that would be the closest they got as the Rainbow Warriors closed the opening frame on a 9-3 run to take the opener 25-18.
The second set was a see-saw affair with 15 ties and four lead changes along the way. Lewis led by as many as three in the set but Hawai'i rallied to take a 24-23 lead and were on the verge of taking a 2-0 lead in the match. The Flyers called a timeout and after the timeout a service error by Dimitrios Mouchlias evened the set at 24. Lewis had three chances to even the set but each time Hawai'i scored to extend the match. The Flyers would win the set as
Tyler Mitchem (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook HS) blocked Guilherme Voss to give Lewis the 29-27 victory.
Davis hit .467 in the second stanza with eight kills against one error in 15 swings as Lewis hit .256 as a team in the frame.
The Rainbow Warriors led by four early in the third set but the Flyers fought back to within 15-13 after the media timeout on a kill from Davis. Lewis wouldn't get closer than two the rest of stanza as Hawai'i closed the set on a 10-6 run to win the swing set 25-19.
The Flyers led by five early in the fourth frame and were still up 21-19 late in the stanza after a kill from Mitchem. The Rainbow Warriors responded with four straight points to take a 23-21 lead after back-to-back errors from Roquet. Lewis scored two of the next three points to even the set at 24 after Davis' 23rd kill of the match but the Flyers weren't able to retake the lead as Hawai'i scored the final two points to win 26-24.
Lewis finished the match hitting .149 with 47 kills against 27 errors in 134 chances. Davis finished with a match and career-high in kills and digs (19) while Mitchem finished with 11 kills and Roquet added eight kills.
Kevin Kauling (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) finished with 31 assists and Mitchem had five blocks.
The Rainbow Warriors hit .231 for the contest with 45 kills against 17 errors in 121 swings and were led by Chaz Galloway with a team-high 16 kills. Spyros Chakas overcame a slow start to finish with 10 kills. Jakob Thelle matched Kauling with his 31 assists, Voss finished with 12 total blocks and Galloway added 10 digs.
The Flyers return home to take on McKendree on Thursday (March 17) at 6 p.m. at Neil Carey Arena.
