Stanford, Calif. - The Lewis University men's volleyball team ended their season-opening California road trip on a high note as they swept No. 9 Stanford Saturday evening at Burnham Pavilion.
With the win, the Flyers improved to 2-0 on the young campaign while the Cardinal lost their season-opener.
IMPACT PLAYERS
Three different Lewis players tallied 10-or-more kills, led by 12 from
Oguzhan Oguz (Bursa, Turkey/Ocean).
Deyan Todorov (Sofia, Bulgaria/51st Secondary) and
Daniel Haber (Remsenburg, NY/Westhampton Beach) each had 10 of their own to help pace the Lewis attack.
Diego Estrada (Ponce, Puerto Rico/Adianez) tied his career-high in assists with 38 while
Nico Paula (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Preparatory School) tallied a team-best nine digs. At the net, Lewis led the match in total blocks, 11-2, with
Frederick Krueger-Beer (Milwaukee, Wis./Wauwatosa East) leading the Lewis efforts at the net with one block solo and six block assists. Lewis ended the match with a .355 (47-9-107) hitting percentage compared to .231 (40-19-91) for Stanford.
Moses Wagner paced Stanford with 12 kills while Theoren Brouillette notched 21 assists and team-best seven digs in the loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Down 23-20 late in the first set, the Flyers found a set-saving spark as a kill from
Shawn Baggs Jr. (Gilbert, Ariz./Casteel HS) ignited a 4-1 run that tied the two sides at 24-all. Both sides exchanged the next eight scores with Lewis getting to within one of set point on four occasions and Stanford once. Still, the Flyers broke the deadlock for good as a Haber kill followed by a Estrada service ace sealed the 30-28 set one marathon victory.
In a back and forth second set, the Flyers and Cardinal found themselves again tied, this time at 11-all after a Todorov kill. The Flyers were cleared for take-off moments later as they embarked on a 7-4 runt hat gave them an slim 18-15 edge. The red and white continued to pester the Cardinal side of the court and a late 5-1 run, paced by a trio of kills from Haber, Todorov and
Cameron Hoying (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales), pushed the Flyers to within one of claiming the set two win, 24-18. Despite a late Stanford rally, the Flyers sealed the set two victory with a service error from the hosts. In the second stanza, Lewis hit at a match-best .379 (13-2-29) compared to .185 (12-7-27) for Stanford.
In the final frame, the Flyers attacked early and often as they scored eight of the first 10 points of the credenza. They never looked back as they used multiple scoring spurts and hit at a clip of .312 (12-2-32) to seal the 25-22 set three win and complete their West Coast sweep.
MATCH NOTES
- Lewis earned its fifth win in program history against Stanford
- The Flyers opened the year with back-to-back sweeps for the second consecutive year
- Krueger-Beer's seven total blocks were one shy of his career-high eight which he set last year against Purdue Fort Wayne
- Lewis swept a top-10 team for the first time since sweeping then No. 6 Loyola Chicago last year on April 10, 2025.
- Every Lewis played that checked in against the Cardinal also played in all three sets as well.
UP NEXT
Lewis returns home to face Roosevelt on Jan. 13. Opening serve is set for 7 p.m. from Neil Carey Arena.
For the latest news, scores, and updates on Lewis men's volleyball, visit LewisFlyers.com and follow the Flyers on social media at @Lewismensvb on Instagram and @LewisMVBall on X.
