Muncie, Ind. - The No. 16 Lewis University men's volleyball team used 38 combined kills from
Cameron Hoying (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales) and
Daniel Haber (Remsenburg, NY/Westhampton Beach) to upset No. 7 Ball State, 3-2, in Thursday night Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association madness inside Worthen Arena.
The Flyers improved to 16-2 (8-7 MIVA) while the Cardinals, who also were handed their first home loss of the year, shifted to 21-4 (12-3 MIVA).
IMPACT PLAYERS
Hoying led the way with his third 20 kill match of the year as he finished with 21 kills with Haber chipping in 17 of his own.
Wyatt Jones (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich) provided a season-high 31 assists during a season-high four sets of action. On the defensive side of the ball, reigning MIVA Defensive Player of the Week
Nico Paula (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Preparatory School) notched 12 digs while Hoying notched a career-high seven total blocks. Lewis hit at a clip of .360 (62-13-136) compared to .331 (67-21-139) for Ball State.
Patrick Rodgers tied the match-high in kills with 21 while Victor Scherer notched 19 digs in the loss, three shy of Paula's 22 from last Saturday which stands as the most by any MIVA player this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tied 2-2 in the match with the winner take all fifth set on deck, the Flyers stormed out of the gate, tallying five of the first seven points of the final stanza. After trading the next few scores, Ball State took the lead for the first time since the score was 2-1 as a Flyers service error spurned a 4-0 run that put the hosts ahead, 12-11.
Still, the Flyers found an answer as Hoying picked-up his 19th kill of the match to kick start a short 4-2 burst that propelled Lewis ahead, 15-14. Ball State notched two of the next three points to hold off two Lewis match points and keep both sides knotted at 16. Lewis pulled away for good the next point as Haber tallied his 17th kill of the match to make it 17-16 before Hoying secured the crucial late season road upset with a service ace the next point.
Earlier in the contest with the match tied, 1-1, Lewis clung to a thin 9-8 lead early in the third set. Ball State took the lead for good the next point as they embarked on a 9-1 run, paced by a pair of kills from Rodgers, to open up a 17-10 advantage. Both sides exchanged scores the remainder of the way with the hosts tallying four of the final five points of the credenza to win, 25-17 and claim a 2-1 match lead.
In the fourth set, the Flyers were cleared for early take-off as they tallied five of the first six points of the set. Despite the early lead, the Cardinals slowly chipped away at the Flyers lead, bringing the score to within one, 18-17. Still the Flyers snuffed out the hosts comeback as an untimely Cardinals service error served as the start of a short 4-1 burst that gave Lewis a 22-18 cushion. After a Will Basillio kill, Lewis closed the frame scoring three of the final four points, capping the 25-20 set four win with a
Gauthier Brozak (Liege, Belgium/Institut de la providence de Herve) service ace, to tie the match 2-2 and set up their fifth set heroics.
MATCH NOTES
- Tonight marked the 79th all-time meeting between Lewis and Ball State
- Hoying is the first Flyer to have consecutive matches with 20-or-more kills since Oguzhan Oguz (Bursa, Turkey/Ocean) had three matches with 20-or-more kills from March 15-22, 2025.
- Lewis earned it's first win this year when recording less kills than their opponents
- Jones is the first freshman to have 30-or-more assists in a match since Tyler Morgan had 31 against Belmont Abbey on Jan. 22, 2022
UP NEXT
The Flyers will play their final regular season match of the year on April 11 against Purdue Fort Wayne. Opening serve from Fort Wayne, Indiana, is set for 3 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.
