No. 14 Lewis Tops No. 15 St. Francis (Pa.) 3-1 In Record Setting Match
ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - The No. 14 ranked Lewis University men's volleyball blocked their way to victory Saturday night, defeating No. 15 St. Francis (Pa.) 3-1 in a non-conference match at Neil Carey Arena 30-28, 28-30, 30-25, 30-28.
Lewis set a rally scoring era team match record with 39 block assists in the contest while senior Rikki Garma (Lihue, Hawaii/Ost) had a career-high 21 digs, a new rally scoring era record.
"I thought we did a great job grinding out a tough match tonight," head coach Dan Friend said. "It was a battle of attrition as both teams were coming off tough matches last night. At first the guys' energy level wasn't there but we dug in and responded. A lot of guys reach personal bests when you dig in like that."
Senior Nathan Klaas (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) set a career-high with 26 kills hitting .333 to lead the Flyers. His 54 attempts were also a career-high. Klaas also had seven digs.
"Nathan took 100 swings in two nights," Friend said. "To see him put up 20-kill performances on consecutive nights is impressive.
On the defensive end, four Flyers set career-highs in blocks with Klaas and sophomore Aaron Flick (North Ridgeville, Ohio/St. Edward) totaling nine block assists apiece. Sophomore Matt Gallik (Evergreen Park, Ill./Brother Rice) also had nine blocks with one solo. Senior Mike Iandolo (Orland, Fla./Long Beach State) finished with eight block assists. He totaled 63 assists, tying a career mark for most in a four-set match.
The match was highlighted with 31 ties and 11 lead changes. Lewis was able to close out the match in the fourth set thanks to 7.5 blocks in the stanza. The match ended with a block by Klaas and Flick on 2009 AVCA All-American Jordan Varee, who led the Red Flash with 19 kills.
The win was Dan Friend's 250 of his career.
Lewis improves to 5-1 on the year and St. Francis drops to 6-3.
The Flyers are back in action on Tuesday as they open up conference play at Quincy. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
