ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's 13th ranked men's volleyball team fell in straight sets at eighth ranked Ball State on Saturday evening at Worthen Arena in Muncie, Ind. The Flyers fall to 13-11, 5-7 MIVA while the Cardinals improve to 19-2, 11-1 MIVA.
Ball State never trailed in the opening frame as it led by as many as seven on its way to a 25-19 set victory. The Cardinals hit .370 in the stanza while holding Lewis to a zero hitting percentage.
The middle set saw 17 ties and five lead changes. The Flyers led by as many as two early but Ball State came back to take a 16-13 lead after a service from Angelos Mandilaris. Lewis fought back to tie the frame at 24 after an error by Felix Egharevba but weren't able to get over the hump as the Cardinals scored the final two points to win the frame 26-24.
Ball State jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the third set but the Flyers rallied to get within 13-11 after a kill from
John Davis (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central). The Cardinals pushed their lead back to five after a kill from Mandilaris. Lewis got to within three at 19-16 when
Michael Sack (Oak Lawn, Ill./St. Laurence) blocked Mandilaris. That would be the closest the Flyers got the rest of the way as Ball State closed the match scoring six of the last 10 points to win 25-20.
Lewis was held to a .143 hitting percentage in the match with 32 kills against 19 errors in 91 chances.
Max Roquet (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) led the Flyers with a career-high 13 kills while
Tyler Mitchem (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook HS) added six kills.
Kevin Kauling (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) had 30 assists and Roquet had eight digs. Mitchem led Lewis with five blocks.
The Cardinals hit .284 in the contest recording 41 kills against 16 errors in 88 swings. Mandilaris finished with a game-high 19 kills while Shepherd added seven kills. Quinn Isaacson had 33 assists, Colin Ensalaco added nine digs and Egharevba had five blocks.
The Flyers begin their final homestand of the season next Thursday (April 7) hosting Quincy at 7 p.m. Thursday's match will be a Red Out and the annual Christian Brothers Bash.
