ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis senior middle blocker Matt Gallik (Evergreen Park, Ill./Brother Rice) (Evergreen Park, Ill./Brother Rice) and junior outside hitter Jay Petty (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) were honored by the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association on Wednesday (May 2) for their play in helping Lewis win the 2012 MIVA Championship last week. Gallik has been named the MIVA Defensive Player of the Week and Petty has been named the MIVA Offensive Player of the Week.
 
Gallik helped guide the Flyers to the 2012 MIVA Championship by averaging 1.75 blocks per set over the team's two matches. Gallik turned in his best blocking match of the season versus the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes, racking up 12 total blocks including a career-high 11 block assists to help the Flyers hold a commanding 21.5 to 5 edge in blocks for the match. He also blasted six kills and hit .308 in the match. In Lewis' semifinal win over Loyola, Gallik tied for match-high honors with two total blocks (one solo and one assists), while adding two kills and hitting .333. He also collected a dig in the sweep.
 
This is Gallik's first MIVA weekly award of the season.
 
Petty was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2012 MIVA Tournament after guiding the Flyers to the tournament championship last week by averaging 5.25 kills per set and hitting .395 in two matches. Petty turned in one of the most dominating performances in MIVA Tournament history in Lewis' semifinal victory over Loyola-Chicago, blasting 17 kills and hitting .714 in a three-set sweep of the Ramblers. He also added two digs, an ace and a block assist in the win. In the five-set championship match victory over defending national champion Ohio State, Petty led the Flyers with 25 kills and hit .283. With the Flyers leading 13-10 in the fifth set, Petty recorded back-to-back kills to secure the championship. He also came up with a huge block assist to end the fourth set and force a deciding fifth frame. In addition to his kill total, Petty posted seven total blocks and eight digs in the victory.
 
It's the fourth time this year Petty has earned MIVA Offensive Player of the Week honors. For the season, Lewis collected 10 weekly MIVA honors.
 
“To win a championship you need your all-conference guys to play at a high level,” Lewis head coach Dan Friend said. “Matt and Jay were just two of our guys who played at that level last week.”
 
The No. 7 Flyers play No. 1 USC on Thursday (May 3) at 8 p.m. PT/10 p.m. CT in the National Semifinals. A Lewis victory would advance the Flyers to the National Championship on Saturday (May 5) at 7 p.m. PT/9 p.m. CT.