MANOA, Hawai'i – The No. 14 Lewis University men's volleyball team battled back to take down No. 5 California-Irvine in five sets Friday (March 8) in the OUTRIGGER Invitational.

TEAM RECORDS
No. 14 Lewis 11-9 | No. 5 Cal-Irvine 13-5

LEWIS LEADERS
Kills: Daniel Haber (Remsenburg, NY/Westhampton Beach) (17), Syver Drolsum (Vikersund, Norway/Toppvolley Norge) (16), Max Roquet (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) (15), Shawn Baggs (Gilbert, Ariz./Casteel HS) (10)
Digs: Tyler Morgan (Dike, Iowa/Dike-New Hartford) (9), Haber (9), Drolsum (7)
Assists: Morgan (49)
Blocks: Baggs (7), Roquet (6)
Aces: Morgan (1), Piotr Wymoczyl (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove HS) (1), Baggs (1)

SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: UCI 25, Lewis 22
Cal-Irvine used a 3-0 run to take an early 3-1 lead. The Anteaters later pushed the lead to 9-6 before Lewis punched back with a kill by Baggs and a block by Wymoczyl and Haber.

UCI restored its lead to 13-10 but then the Flyers got hot. A 4-1 run with three kills, including two from Haber, tied the set at 14. After one point for the Anteaters, Lewis rattled off five in a row with four more kills to grab a 19-15 advantage.

A 4-0 run by Cal-Irvine tied the set at 19, and later another 3-0 charge made it 24-21 Anteaters. UCI finished the set with a kill.

Set 2: Lewis 25, UCI 19
Lewis took a 3-1 lead with kills by Haber, Roquet and Drolsum early in the second set. Cal-Irvine responded with a 3-0 charge to take a 4-3 advantage.

Soon after, the Flyers took six points in a row including two kills and a solo block by Baggs to jump back into the lead at 10-5. The Anteaters responded with four of the next five points and later trimmed the deficit down to 13-12.

Kills by Drolsum and Haber helped Lewis to a 3-0 run that brought the lead to 16-12. Another 3-0 push from the Flyers with a pair of kills by Roquet made it 20-15.

Cal-Irvine tried to mount a comeback but Lewis finished the set with a 4-1 run capped off with a kill by Roquet.

Set 3: UCI 25, Lewis 18
The Flyers took the first point of set three, but the Anteaters charged ahead with six of the next seven points to make it 6-2. Haber and Drolsum rattled off back-to-back kills to end the run.

A 7-4 charge from UCI made it 13-8 Anteaters. Cal-Irvine kept Lewis at bay, pushing its lead to 23-15 late in the set.

Three of the next four points went to the Flyers, with kills by Morgan and Roquet, but the Anteaters ended the set with a kill.

Set 4: Lewis 25, UCI 20
Cal-Irvine started the set with a 3-0 advantage. Kills by Drolsum and Roquet brought Lewis back within one point at 5-4.

Later, a 3-0 push from the Flyers including an ace by Baggs put Lewis ahead 8-7. The Flyers kept charging, as a 5-0 run featuring two kills and a block assist by Roquet put the lead up to 17-11.

The Anteaters were able to get back within three, 22-19, later in the set looking for a comeback to close out the match. Lewis got kills from Baggs, Roquet and Tate Sandvig (Boone, Iowa/) to finish off the set and force a deciding fifth frame.

Set 5: Lewis 15, UCI 11
A 4-1 run with kills from Drolsum, Haber and Baggs gave the Flyers the 4-2 advantage early in the final set. UCI got back within one point a few times, including at 8-7, before Lewis went on a run.

The Flyers used a 3-0 charge including an ace by Morgan to push the lead to 11-7, but the Anteaters then took three in a row right back to make it 11-10. Lewis showed its resilience down the stretch, taking four of the last five points with an attack error by Cal-Irvine securing the victory for the Flyers.

UP NEXT
Lewis men's volleyball finishes the OUTRIGGER Invitational in Hawai'i Sunday (March 10) against No. 1 Grand Canyon at 7 p.m. CT.