Box Score ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The No. 14 Lewis University men's volleyball team fell to No. 9 Ball State 3-2 (0-25, 29-27, 25-23, 20-25, 10-15) Saturday (March 7) at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers fall to 12-7 overall, 5-4 in the MIVA, while Ball State moves to 16-3 overall, 7-2 in the MIVA.
IMPACT PLAYERS
Cameron Hoying (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales) had 19 kills, three aces, nine digs and eight assists to lead Lewis. Devan Todorov added 14 kills and three blocks, while
Daniel Haber (Remsenburg, NY/Westhampton Beach) had eight kills,
Nico Paula (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Preparatory School) recorded 15 digs and
Diego Estrada (Ponce, Puerto Rico/Adianez) dished out 33 assists.
Patrick Rogers had 26 kills and four blocks to pace the Cardinals. Ryan Louis had 16 kills, Jacob Surette recorded 10 blocks and Lucas Machado had 49 assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the first set Lewis jumped out to a 5-1 advantage before Ball State evened the score at 10-10. The match was tied at 17-17 when the Cardinals reeled off five straight points before a Hoying kill stopped the run. The teams traded points with Ball State winning the first set 25-20.
Lewis took a 16-13 lead in the second set, but the Cardinals came back to tie the score at 16-16. The teams went back and forth from there, going point for point the rest of the set until the Flyers scored the final three points of the set to win 29-27. A kill by Hoying evened the score at 27-27 before a pair of attack errors gave Lewis the set.
Ball State jumped out to a 4-1 lead early in the third set. Lewis came back with six straight points to lead 12-7 as Hoying finished the run with a kill and an ace. The Cardinals clawed their way back to a 21-21 tie. It was tied at 23 when Todorov and Hoying had back-to-back kills to finish the set for the Flyers 25-23 to take a 2-1 lead.
It was Lewis which started fast in the fourth set, leading 7-4 before Ball State rallied to take an 11-8 lead. Lewis could get no closer than one point the rest of the set as the Cardinals took the set 25-20.
An early five-point run for the Cardinals in the fifth set gave them a 7-3 lead. A Shawn Baggs kill stopped the run momentarily, but Ball State came back with the next three points to take a 10-4 lead en route to a 15-10 set win.
MATCH NOTES
- Hoying's 19 kills matched a season-high that he set January 31 against Manhattan.
- Paula also matched a season high in digs with 15, set January 24 against Pepperdine.
- The Cardinals finished the match with a 61-48 advantage in kills.
UP NEXT
The Flyers travel to Honolulu, Hawaii, where they will face off with WCLA Thursday at 4 p.m. HT.
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.
