April 30, 2004

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Outside hitter Jeff Soler registered a sparkling .535 attack percentage and Lewis was superior at the net Friday night in the Flyers' 26-30, 32-30, 30-22, 30-28 victory over top-seeded Ohio State in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament semifinals at St. John Arena.

The win propels fifth-seeded Lewis (18-13), ranked 13th in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll, into Saturday's 7 p.m. EDT title match against 11th-ranked and second-seeded Ball State (22-8), which beat 12th-ranked and third-seeded Loyola Chicago 30-27, 30-23, 30-28 in the other semifinal.

Saturday's winner advances to the four-team NCAA Men's Collegiate Championship, scheduled for next Thursday and Saturday in Honolulu. Lewis took both regular-season matches from Ball State this year, winning 30-26, 30-20, 30-27 in Muncie, Ind., and 22-30, 30-24, 30-23, 30-24 in Romeoville.

Soler tallied 10 kills and just one error in 17 attempts in a decisive fourth game that saw Lewis rally from a 20-16 deficit. He had five kills, including the game-winner, in the Flyers' 14-8 run to close the match.

Soler, a junior from Delray Beach, Fla., finished with 25 kills and just two errors in 43 attempts.

Ohio State (21-9) outhit Lewis .275 to .158 in the Buckeyes' game-one victory.

In the nip-and-tuck second game, the Flyers trailed 28-26 before a kill by Fabiano Barreto and a service ace by Enrique Escalante tied the score. The game was knotted at 30 when kills by Greg Pochopien and Soler handed Lewis the 32-30 win.

The Flyers carried the momentum to a relatively easy win in game three. Lewis sprinted to a 14-4 lead with an 8-0 run that included seven consecutive service points by Barreto, and the Flyers went on to outhit the Buckeyes .351 to .103 and earn a 7-2 margin in team blocks.

OSU appeared ready to even the match at two games apiece after taking a 7-3 advantage in game four, only to see the Flyers battle back and eventually prevail.

Barreto had 13 kills and Escalante added 10 kills for the Flyers, who registered a .225 hitting percentage for the match to Ohio State's .200. Andy Cole (22 kills), Mike Wauligman (16 kills) and Mark Greaves (14 kills) led the OSU offense.

Lewis earned a 19-10 advantage in team blocks. Pochopien led the way with 10 stuffs, including three solos, while Escalante picked up eight and Barreto had seven. Ryan Stuntz collected a team-high 14 digs and setter Brandon Sisk had 50 assists.