Jan. 30, 2004

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - The Lewis University men's volleyball team played with better energy and the result was a 30-22, 30-23, 30-23 sweep of Mercyhurst. The Flyers (3-5, 1-1 Midwest Intercollegoate Volleyball Association) responded from their four-game loss to IPFW with a more focused approach.

"We sat down last night and went over the IPFW tape very deliberately," said Lewis head coach Dave Deuser. "We went over what went wrong and what people have been doing incorrectly. We didn't lynch anybody or anything, but errors were addressed and the guys came out and responded much better tonight."

The Flyers closed strongly in all three games to clinch the match. Mercyhurst (4-3, 0-1 MIVA) stayed within 1-3 points for the first 20 points of each game, but Lewis turned it on in the final 10 points of each game to stymie the Lakers.

Junior Jeff Soler posted a team-high 13 kills to lead the Flyer attack. Enrique Escalante recorded another steady match with 12 kills and a .625 hitting percentage. Escalante added a team-best four service aces and six blocks.

Freshman Jared Dayton came off the bench and tallied seven kills and a team-high .700 hitting percentage in two games.

Austin Siewert had 10 kills, five blocks and a team-high .389 hitting percentage to lead Mercyhurst.

The Flyers will face their second MIVA test in five days when they host Ohio State on Sunday. Match time against the Buckeyes is 2 p.m.