Romeoville, Ill. – Despite ending the match with more kills than No. 10 Loyola Chicago, the No. 16 Lewis University men's volleyball team fell 3-1 in Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Action Thursday night at Neil Carey Arena.
With the win, the Ramblers moved to 15-6 (9-3 MIVA) compared to 14-11 (6-6 MIVA) for the Flyers.
IMPACT PLAYERS
Daniel Fabikovic led the Ramblers with 11 kills while Ryan McElligott tallied a team-best 32 assists in the win. Tyler Howard and JJ Sowa each had six digs for Loyola Chicago as well.
Daniel Haber (Remsenburg, NY/Westhampton Beach) paced Lewis with 13 kills while
Cameron Hoying (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales) chipped in 12 of his own.
Diego Estrada (Ponce, Puerto Rico/Adianez) dished out 41 assists while
Nico Paula (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Preparatory School) notched 10 digs. Hoying also led the Flyers at the net with five total blocks. As a team, Lewis hit at a clip of .260 (49-22-104) compared to .217 (46-23-106) for Loyola Chicago.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Down 22-19 late in the first set, the Flyers turned the tide as a Todorov kill changed the red and whites fortune and sparked a 5-0 run that made it a 24-22 contest.
The Ramblers had an answer as they used their own 4-2 spurt to flip the deficit and tie the match, 26-26. Lewis took the lead the next point thanks to a Loyola service error, but the Ramblers notched the next three scores to claim the first set, 29-27 and take a 1-0 match lead.
In another tightly contested frame, the Flyers again found themselves in a hole, this time 20-18. The Flyers flipped their fortunes again as Haber and Todorov combined for three consecutive kills to push Lewis ahead, 21-20. Still, Loyola took the frame as they rattled off five of the final seven points of the stanza to win, 25-23 and jump ahead, 2-0.
It was all Flyers in the third set as they notched five of the first six points of the frame and never looked back en route to their 25-16 set three win. During the stanza, Lewis hit at a clip of .500 (13-3-20) compared to just .048 (7-6-21) for Loyola.
Down by as much as six in the final set, the Flyers began to claw back, trimming their deficit down to two, 24-22. However, the Lewis comeback effort would be thwarted as the very next point, Oscar Berg Mikkelson put down a kill to seal the 25-23 set four win and 3-1 match win.
Prior to the match, the Flyers honored the Rae Strong Foundation. Founded by volleyball coaches Dan and Lorelee Friend, the Rae Strong Foundation has raised over $150,000 for families with micro-preemies around the country.
You can support the foundation here.
The Flyers also honored Volleyball for Charity Foundation. The Volleyball for Charity Foundation has partnered with the Rae Strong Foundation for the third straight year. Volleyball for Charity was founded in 1981 by the Clark family in honor of their son, Robbie, who had physical and mental disabilities. The Clarks aimed to raise awareness and funds for organizations supporting individuals with special needs. Over 35 years, they have raised more than half a million dollars for these causes.
You can click here to support the VFC and register for their tournament.
MATCH NOTES
- Today marked the 75th all-time meeting between the two schools
- The Ramblers are the sixth opponent that has been ranked in the AVCA Top-20 that Lewis faced during the month of March. It is the most amount of ranked matches in any month for the Flyers this season
- Today was only the Flyers second loss of the season when leading in kills
- Haber and Hoying each tallied 10-or-more kills as a duo for the second time in three matches.
UP NEXT
The Flyers will continue their three match homestand with a 7 p.m. contest against Lindenwood on April 2.
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.
