St. Charles, Mo. - MIVA Madness arrived this postseason as the #6 seed Lewis University men's volleyball team upset #3 seed Lindenwood, 3-0, in the first round of the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament.
The Flyers record improved to 17-13 while the Lions end the year with a 20-7 record.
IMPACT PLAYERS
Daniel Haber (Remsenburg, NY/Westhampton Beach) and
Cole Sweitzer (Middleton, Wis./Middleton HS) led Lewis with 11 and 10 kills respectively while
Diego Estrada (Ponce, Puerto Rico/Adianez) dished out 29 assists in the win. On the defensive side of the ball,
Cameron Hoying (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales) led the way with six digs while
Shawn Baggs Jr. (Gilbert, Ariz./Casteel HS) notched a match-high six blocks (2 Solo, 4 Assist). As a team, Lewis hit at a clip of .392 (37-8-74) compared to just .141 (30-19-78) for Lindenwood.
Owen Walsh put down nine kills for the Lions while Zach Solomon had 24 assists. Lincoln Geist had nine digs for the hosts in the loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lewis was cleared for take-off right when the match started as they rattled off seven of the first 10 points of the match. The Lewis offense never slowed down as an ensuring 7-2 run gave Lewis a 14-6 cushion. The Flyers kept the Lions at bay for the remainder of the set and sealed the 25-20 set one with a Sweitzer kill to take a 1-0 match lead.
It was all Lewis in the middle stanza as they hit at a match-best .478 (13-2-23) hitting percentage compared to .000 (7-7-23) for Lindenwood to snag a 25-16 set two win and take a 2-0 match lead.
Tied 15-15 midway through in the winner-take-all third set, the Flyers broke away as an untimely Lindenwood attack error sparked a short 5-1 burst that gave Lewis the lead for good, 20-16. Despite a late 4-2 run that clipped the Lewis lead down to just two, 24-22, Haber sealed the sweep the next point as he received a ball from Estrada that he put down for his 11th kill of the match to complete the sweep.
MATCH NOTES
- Lewis is now 3-0 all-time against Lindenwood in the postseason
- With his six blocks tonight, Baggs Jr. is now the first Flyer since Tyler Mitchem to have 100 total blocks in a year
- Haber had 10-or-more kills for the 16th time this year
- Sweitzer reached the 10 kill mark for the third time this year
UP NEXT
The Flyers will renew their longtime rivalry with a road match against #2 seed Loyola Chicago on April 22 at 7 p.m.
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.
