FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Lewis University's 12th ranked men's volleyball team snapped its four-match road losing streak with a 3-0 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday night at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center. The Flyers improve to 12-9, 4-5 MIVA while the Mastodons drop to 13-9, 4-5 MIVA.
The opening frame of the match went back-and-forth early but it was Purdue Fort Wayne that held a 15-14 lead at the media timeout. After the timeout, Lewis went on a 6-0 run to grab a 20-15 lead. The Flyers had three blocks in the run and
Kevin Kauling (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) added a service ace.
Lewis got to set point first at 24-20 after a kill from
Joe Kenzinger (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice) but had to hold off a Mastodon rally as they scored three straight points to cut the Flyer lead to 24-23. Lewis was able to close out the set as Kenzinger recorded his third kill of the stanza to end the set.
The Flyers trailed by five early in the middle frame but worked their way back to take a 16-15 lead after a kill from
John Davis (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central). That kill from Davis was part of an 8-2 run that gave Lewis a 22-17 lead after a kill from
Tyler Mitchem (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook HS). Purdue Fort Wayne wouldn't get closer than four points the rest of the stanza as the Flyers won 25-19 to take the commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
Lewis raced out to a 6-1 lead in the final set but the Mastodons fought back to within one but the Flyers never lost the lead as they responded with an 11-7 run to regain its five-point cushion at 18-13 after Davis, Kenzinger and Kauling teamed up to block Vicente Ibarra.
The Mastodons closed the gap to 19-17 after an ace from Sean Califf but Lewis closed the match scoring six of the last 10 points to complete the sweep with a 25-21 victory.
The Flyers hit .302 in the contest recording 39 kills against 13 errors in 86 chances. Davis and
Max Roquet (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) led the way for Lewis with 10 kills apiece while Mitchem added seven kills.
Tyler Morgan (Dike, Iowa/New Hartford) had 25 assists, Mitchem had eight total blocks and Davis finished with six digs.
Purdue Fort Wayne was limited to a .182 hitting percentage with 37 kills against 21 errors in 88 attempts. Jon Diedrich led the way for the Mastodons with 10 kills. Califf had a match-high 31 assists and Troy Gooch finished with eight digs.
The Flyers are back at home this Saturday (March 26) as they host 11th ranked Loyola Chicago in the sixth annual Playing for Preemies Match.
