Loyola beats Lewis in MIVA showdown

ROMEOVILLE – Whatever happened in Wednesday night’s showdown against Loyola at jam-packed Neil Carey Arena was not make-or-break for the Lewis men’s volleyball team.

But it mattered – plenty, as evidenced by the electric atmosphere.

The Flyers got off to a slow start in the pivotal third game and wound up dropping a four-game decision 25-23, 21-25, 25-17, 25-19 to their Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association rivals.

Lewis (7-3, 0-1) led 21-19 late in Game 1, but a couple of errors later, it slipped away. The Flyers were in command through most of Game 2, but Game 3 opened with Loyola (8-1, 2-0) grabbing a 13-5 lead. Lewis made a spirited comeback attempt but never could climb all the way back.

Loyola led the entire fourth game as well. The Flyers got back as close as 22-18 before the Ramblers wrapped up the victory.

“After the 10-minutes break (after Game 2), we came out did not start as well in Game 3 as we had the two previous games,” Lewis coach Dan Friend noted. “The credit goes to those guys. They did what they wanted the last two games.

“What we take from this is we have to be more disciplined with some of the things we’re doing. We move on from here. We have more big conference matches coming.”

Before the match, Friend said, “We’re doing some nice things early on this season. We beat BYU and Pacific and had tough four-game battles in our losses. So we’re in a good spot. But this is a good test.”

It proved every bit of that. Loyola slipped out of the top spot in the most recent rankings and came in at No. 2. Lewis was No. 10.

At this point, rankings are not what matters most. Winning MIVA matches is what counts.

“This is a conference game, which makes it important,” Friend said. “But it’s not because it’s Loyola. All the conference games are important. You want to win the conference and get the high seed and play at home for the tournament.”

The Ramblers and Flyers have waged classic battles through the years, with Loyola leading the all-time series 24-21.

Last season, after the two split their MIVA match-ups and Lewis won its second straight regular-season championship, the Flyers lost a five-set heart breaker to Loyola for the conference tournament title, sending the Ramblers to the Final Four.

This year, four conference tournament champions nationwide will advance to the finals, which Loyola will host, and two at-large bids also will be awarded. Had this format been in place last season, Lewis likely would have gone to the nationals.

Wednesday’s match featured a battle between two big-time outside hitters and two standout setters.

Lewis’ 6-4 junior Geoff Powell and Loyola 6-6 sophomore Thomas Jaeschke. Powell finished with 14 kills and a .276 hitting percentage while Jaeschke posted 18 kills and hit at a .424 clip. BJ Boldog had 33 assists for the Flyers, Peter Hutz 43 for the Ramblers.

Greg Petty chipped in 10 kills for Lewis, but it was not enough. “Greg has stepped into a consistent starter role for us,” Friend said.