Feb. 29, 2008

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Junior Billy Sahagian hit .611 with 13 kills to help the Flyers sweep four-time Division III National Champion Juniata 30-23, 30-24, 30-24 Friday night at Neil Carey Arena in a non-conference match.

Game one was tight till Lewis (11-5) used a 4-0 run to take a three-point lead at 17-14. Junior Drew Pickering had two kills in the spurt. Juniata (6-6) advanced within one at 19-18 and 20-19, but each time senior Jared Dayton responded with a kill to make sure the Eagles would get no closer. The Flyers closed the game with a 5-0 run to turn a two-point lead into a seven-point opening game victory.

Game two featured back and forth runs till the Flyers surged ahead late. A 3-0 Juniata run gave the Eagles a 15-13 lead. The Flyers trailed by two until a 5-1 run gave Lewis a 22-20 advantage. Juniata called a timeout and the Eagles responded by taking the next two points to knot it up. But down the stretch it was all Flyers, closing it out with an 8-2 run.

The final game was close till a 5-1 run by Lewis pushed their lead from two to six. Freshman Brian Muesenfechter ended the match with his only kill.

Sahagian's hitting percentage was the second best performance by a Flyer this season. He also added six blocks (two solo). Junior Alex Vigansky reached double-digits with 10 kills and no errors to hit .667. Middles Vigansky and Sahagian combined to hit .636 on the night. Senior Jared Dayton hit .556 with 12 kills and only two errors. Sophomore Mike Iandolo totaled 41 assists, his career-high for a three game match, an average of 13.7 per game. Junior Nick Perakes hit double-digit digs for the ninth time this season with 11.

As a team the Flyers recorded 53 kills, a season-high for a three game match. Lewis out-hit (.427 to .264) and out-blocked (9.5 to 3.5) the Eagles. The Flyers have won eight of their last nine matches.

The Flyers hit the road to head out west next week. Lewis will be at UCLA on Tuesday and USC on Wednesday.