Box Score

ROMERVILLE, IL—Lewis, ranked 15^th in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I/II national men's poll, defeated visiting NJIT, 3-0, Friday evening at Neil Carey Arena in men's volleyball non-conference action.
 
Lewis, the preseason favorite to win the 2013 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) title, is the fourth straight opponent from the MIVA the visiting Highlanders have faced this season.  With the victory, the Flyers improve to 3-5 on the season taking the match by the scores of 25-16, 25-14 and 25-23.
 
The Highlanders, who were coming off a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over IPFW on last Saturday at home, recording the first win of the season fall to 1-3 on the young season.
 
The Flyers were led by 2012 MIVA Freshman of the Year Geoff Powell, with 11 kills and five digs.  Geoff, the only player in the match to reach double-figure kills, hit .400 for the match on 20 swings and three errors.
 
Junior setter BJ Boldog piled up a match-high 30 assists to go along with four block assists for the Flyers.  Eric Butch led the match defensively with seven digs while Yiwei Zhou shared match-high honors with Boldog with four block assists.
 
The Highlanders were paced by two Highlanders – Herman Kantushov and Kajetan Borecki with six kills apiece. 
 
Senior setter Matthew Lui posted 20 assists while three different Highlanders combined for six digs apiece defensively – Lui, Borecki and current EIVA Defensive Player of the Week Brady Smith.
 
Lewis hit .522 in the first set, registering 14 kills, two errors on 23 attempts while opening the set 12-6 and later extended the match to 16-8.  The Flyers closed out the set scoring the final three points for a 25-16 win. 
 
In the second frame, the Flyers jumped out to a 14-8 lead and then 20-10 closing out the set with a 25-14 victory. 
 
The third set was the closest of them all.  Both teams traded points early and the Highlanders would rally from a 10-10 tie to a 17-10 lead on a kill by Kantushov. The home team answered scoring the next three points for a 17-13 score. 
 
Lewis inched its way back into the set pulling within three of the visitors, 20-17, on an NJIT service error and later went on a 4-1 run knotting the set at 21 on a kill by Yiwei.
 
After a timeout by NJIT head coach Ryan McNeil, the set was tied at 22 and then again at 23 but No. 15 Lewis scored the final two points of the set coming out on top, 25-23.
 
NJIT will return to action on Saturday at 7pm (CT) when the Highlanders visit Loyola-Chicago.