ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's 13th ranked men's volleyball team advanced to the semifinal round of the MIVA Tournament with a reverse sweep of Ohio State on Saturday evening at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers improve to 16-11 while Ohio State ends its season with a record of 13-14.

Lewis struggled to get its offense going in the opening set as it hit .038 with eight kills against seven errors in 26 chances while Ohio State hit .320 with 13 kills against five errors in 25 swings. The Flyers trailed by as many as six in the set but rallied to within two points at 19-17 after an error from Jacob Pasteur. However, that would be as close as Lewis got as the Buckeyes closed the set with a 6-2 run to take the opener 25-19.

The second frame featured nine ties and three lead changes and was back-and-forth the entire way. Ohio State led by three at the midway point but the Flyers rallied to take a 23-22 lead after a ball handling error by Samuel Clark. The Buckeyes regained the lead after a kill from Justin Howard and a block from Noah Platfoot. Lewis fought off four set points but couldn't fight off a fifth one as Martin Lallemand gave Ohio State the 29-27 victory with a kill.

The middle stanza was nearly identical to the second one but this time it was the Flyers in front at the midway point of the set. Lewis led by as many as three but the Buckeyes rallied to even things at 23 after a kill from Clark. The Flyers retook the lead after an error by Pasteur and then won it on a bad set by Cole Young.

Lewis trailed by three early in the fourth set before going on a 15-6 run to turn that deficit into a 22-16 advantage on a kill from John Davis (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central). Ohio State wouldn't get closer than five the rest of the stanza as the Flyers evened the match at two sets apiece with a 25-19 victory.

The Buckeyes had the early lead in the deciding set but Lewis came back to tie at seven after a service error by Ethan Talley. Pasteur gave Ohio State the lead right back with a kill but it would be its final lead of the match. The Flyers scored three straight points to grab a 10-8 lead but the Buckeyes countered with back-to-back points to even the set at 10.

Lewis scored the final five points of the match thanks to three Ohio State errors, a kill from Davis and then clinched it when Max Roquet (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) and Michael Sack (Oak Lawn, Ill./St. Laurence) teamed up to block Clark at match point.

The Flyers hit .361 in the contest with 60 kills against 16 errors in 122 chances. Davis led three players in double figures with 16 kills while Christian Prayer (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway North) finished with 15 and Roquet added 10. Kevin Kauling (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) had 50 assists, Prayer added 12 digs and Tyler Mitchem (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook HS) finished with six blocks.

Ohio State hit .295 in the match with 64 kills against 23 errors in 139 swings. Pasteur and Clark were tied for the match-high with 23 kills while Lallemand added 11 kills. Platfoot had 51 assists, Parker Miesch had 15 digs and Young had four blocks.

Lewis will take on top seeded Ball State in the semifinals on Wednesday (Apr. 20) at 6 p.m. in Muncie, Ind. The Cardinals swept both meetings in the regular season between the two teams.