Yes, the No. 15 Lewis University men’s volleyball team was able to get away from beautiful Romeoville, Ill. for Spring Break 2010. And yes, the Flyers travel destination did see them stop off in California for an extended period of time. However, the trip was anything but a time to kick back and relax for the Flyers, as they faced three ranked opponents, one of who was the defending National Champions, as well as rival Ball State.
Considering the level of competition, a 2-2 split during the road trip is more than admirable.
Lewis could not have started the trip off any better, as they edged out Ball State in five sets (30-23, 27-30, 34-32, 26-30, 15-13) on Feb. 26. Freshman hitter Ian Karbiener was the Flyers go-to-guy in the match, attempting 55 attacks. Karbiener tallied 22 kills and also recorded 7 digs. The Flyers out-blocked Ball State 18-to-11 and out hit the Cardinals .213-to-.185. The back and forth battle saw 29 ties, including nine in the final set, and 10 lead changes, but the Flyers were able to pull out the conference road win, the teams first at Ball State since 2004.
Lewis was unable to beat No. 5 UCLA in back-to-back seasons, as the Bruins held their home-court with a sweep (30-22, 30-27, 30-25) on March 3. Dominance at the net by the Bruins played a large factor in why the match only lasted three sets. UCLA out-hit the Flyers .400-to-.135 and out blocked them 14.5-to-4.
After dropping the first set by eight, the Flyers were positioned to even the match when redshirt sophomore Aaron Flick increased the squad’s lead to 23-19 with a kill. But a UCLA timeout slowed the Flyer’s rhythm and led to six straight points for the Bruins. Lewis drew even at 26, but the Bruins earned four of the next five points to take the commanding two set lead.
Facing match point, Lewis tried to mount a comeback tallying three straight points, but it wasn’t enough as they fell by five.
The team halted its losing streak at one, with a big win against NAIA No. 1 Cal Baptist on March 5 in Riverside, Cal. Karbiener led the Flyers with nine kills in the three-set victory (30-23, 32-30, 30-24).
Lewis finished off Cal Baptist in exuberant fashion in the final frame. Leading 23-22, the Flyers rallied off six straight points, including three on blocks. Flick was involved in all three stuff attempts and senior Mike Iandolo got his mitts on two Cal Baptist attacks. Junior Brian Schmidt teamed up with Flick opening block of the run.
Lewis ended the trip with potentially their toughest foe of the season. No. 11 UC-Irvine were the reigning National Champions and also won the title in 2007. The Flyers gave the Anteaters all they could handle, but fell in four sets (27-30, 30-25, 30-19, 30-25).
The Flyers could not be stopped in the opening set, as they hit a staggering .472. Lewis used two three-point runs and a four-point swing to earn the first frame victory. Redshirt sophomore Matt Gallik provided the clincher.
Both offenses showcased their abilities in set two, but UC-Irvine was able to record three more kills than the Flyers on their way to the 30-25 win.
UC-Irvine played near perfect volleyball in the third frame, committing only two attack errors and hitting at a clip .571, as they ran away with an 11-point edge.
The Anteaters showcased their defense in the clinching set as they held the Flyers to a negative attack rate, forcing 14 errors (-.024). Even with the poor offensive execution, three straight points by the Flyers closed the deficit to 28-25. But two straight UC-Irvine points ended any glimmer of hope.
The Flyers are 11-5 (3-2 MIVA) and sit in third place in conference. They take on Juniata on March 19 at 7:00 p.m. in Neil Carey Arena.
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