Defending Champs UC-Irvine Best No. 15 Lewis In Four

IRVINE, Calif. – Lewis senior Nathan Klaas (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) hit .436 with a match-high 22 kills in a four set (27-30, 30-25, 30-19, 30-25) loss at No. 11 UC-Irvine on Monday evening.

The No. 15 Flyers stormed out of the gates with a 9-5 lead in the opening set. The Anteaters twice tied it and advanced within one as late as 19-18. However each time the defending national champions made a run the Flyers were able to keep them at bay.

Set two was as tight as they come as the frame featured 21 ties and nine lead changes. UC-Irvine led by just one at 26-25 when they finished on a 4-0 run to take the set.

“We had a couple errors in a row in the mid 20s to make it tough on ourselves,” head coach Dan Friend said of the second set.

UC-Irvine took an early lead in the third frame and never looked back.

Lewis scored three straight points in the fourth set to tie the score at 14. However UC-Irvine responded with three of their own to take the momentum back and hold on the rest of the way.

Sophomore Matt Gallik (Evergreen Park, Ill./Brother Rice) hit .421 with 12 kills. Freshman Ian Karbiener (Orlando, Fla./Olympia) added 10 kills. Senior Mike Iandolo (Orlando, Fla./Long Beach State) totaled 43 assists and 10 digs. Sophomore Aaron Flick (North Ridgeville, Ohio/St. Edward) finished with seven block assists.

After hitting .472 and .343 in the first two sets, Lewis hit .056 and -.024 in the final two sets.

“The biggest thing is we need to sustain a higher level of play both physically and mentally,” Friend said. “However I think we got better from Wednesday to Monday which is a good thing.”

The Flyers fall to 11-5 while UC-Irvine improves to 11-10. Lewis hosts UC San Diego on Friday and Saturday.