Lewis Sneaks Past Lindenwood to Advance to MIVA Semifinals

  0 Nathan Davis | April 16th, 2017 | College - Men's Indoor, MIVA

MATCH STATS

  • Lewis 3, Lindenwood 2 (25-23, 25-21, 25-27, 20-25, 15-11)
  • Lewis moves to 23-6; Lindenwood finishes the season at 5-19
  • Lewis advances to play Grand Canyon in the MIVA semi-finals on Wednesday, April 19th
  • Romeoville, Illinois
  • Attendance: 291
  • Box Score

The Lewis University Flyers advanced to the MIVA semifinals with a close 3-2 victory over the Lions of Lindenwood University. After winning the first two sets the Flyers dropped the third and fourth sets before ultimately winning the fifth and decisive set, 25-23, 25-21, 25-27, 20-25, 15-11. Service errors plagued the Lions as they would commit 27.

Freshman outside hitter Ryan Coenen led the Flyers with a match-high 20 kills on an impressive .304 hitting percentage. Senior middle blocker Jacob Schmiegelt followed with eight kills and a match-high five service aces to go along with seven block assists. Sophomore setter Matt Yoshimoto dished out 40 assists and a match-high nine digs.

For the Lions, senior opposite Blake Koppel led the team with 19 kills on a .350 hitting percentage, also contributing 10 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Connor Hipelius finished with 11 kills on a match-high .588 hitting percentage. Sophomore setter Adam Brewster led the offense with 46 assists while also picking up seven digs. Junior libero Ryan Vorderer had a match-high 12 digs.

In the first set, Lewis jumped out 3-0 before Lindenwood evened it at 4-4. Throughout the set both teams would exchange points until, at 16-16, five kills from the Lions and an error by the Flyers would put the Lions up 22-18. The Flyers used a five point service run by Schmiegelt to take the first set 25-23.

The second set would see both teams exchanging points again. Tied at 19-19, a service ace by Schmiegelt and two kills from Coenan forced Lindenwood to take a timeout down 19-22. Out of the timeout, a service error by Schmiegelt ended the run and brought the score to 23-20 in favor of the Flyers. Two more service errors from the Lions made the second set go in favor of the Flyers by a score of 25-21.

Both teams would play well in the second set as there were 18 ties and six different lead changes. With the Lions up 22-20, two kills by the Flyers and an error from the Lions tied the score at 23-23. Another error by the Flyers put the Lions at set point, 24-23, before a kill by Schmiegelt tied it again at 24-24. A kill by Schindler put the Lions ahead 25-24 before another kill from Schmiegelt evened it at 25-25. Two errors made by the Flyers gave the third set to the Lions, 27-25.

Lindenwood led for a majority of the fourth set. Tied 6-6, both teams exchanged points until the Lions found themselves on top 19-15. Koppel helped push the lead to 23-17 by contributing three kills. Two quick points for the Flyers forced a Lindenwood timeout as they would cut the lead to 23-19. An attacking error and a service error closed out the set as the Lions won 25-20.

In the fifth and decisive set, Lindenwod jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Errors from the Lions would allow the Flyers to even the score at 6-6 before a Coenan ace put the Flyers on top 7-6. Lewis never looked back and would outscore Lindenwood 8-5 in the closing moments of the set, winning by a score of 15-11.

Lewis University will now prepare for its MIVA semifinal matchup against Grand Canyon University. The first time these two teams met, GCU came out on top 3-2. However, the Flyers would win the next contest 3-2 to even the series.

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy: Lewis University Athletics

Romeoville, Ill. – The No. 7 Lewis University men’s volleyball team won its ninth five-game match of the season as the Flyers picked up the 25-23, 25-21, 25-27, 20-25, 15-11 win over Lindenwood in a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Quarterfinal match-up at Neil Carey Arena on Saturday (Apr. 15) evening.

Lewis redshirt freshman outside hitter Ryan Coenen (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) registered a match-high 20 kills and hit .304 (20 kills, 6 errors, 46 attacks) to pace the Flyer offensive attack.

Flyer sophomore setter Matt Yoshimoto (Ventura, Calif./Adolfo Camarillo) topped Lewis in both assists (40) and digs (9), while redshirt senior middle blocker Jacob Schmiegelt (Lombard, Ill./Willowbrook) had eight kills and a match-high five service aces and seven block assists.

With the win, Lewis extends its winning streak to six and improves to 23-6 on the campaign, while Lindenwood ends its season at 5-19. The Flyers will host the MIVA Semifinals on Wednesday (Apr. 19) at 7 PM at Neil Carey Arena against a yet-to-be determined opponent.

Statistically, Lindenwood held advantages over Lewis in kills (58-48), hitting percentage (.239; .230); assists (53-47) and digs (48-38), but struggled at the line, as the Lions committed 27 service errors.

Courtesy: Lindenwood University Athletics

The Lindenwood men’s volleyball team ended its season on Saturday evening in Romeoville, Ill. in a five-set thriller to No. 7 Lewis. The Lions finish with a 5-19 record for the season.

The Lions surrendered consecutive late leads in the first two sets to dig a 2-0 hole. Lindenwood edged Lewis in the third frame, 27-25, before maintaining control of the fourth set en route to the victory. The Lions jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the deciding set, but the Flyers took control to finish on a 14-7 run and advance to the MIVA semifinals.

Blake Koppel paced the Lions with 19 kills on .350 hitting. The senior also had 10 digs for the second double-double of the season.

Connor Hipelius had 11 kills, and hit a match-hit .588 in the five sets. Freshman Sam Schindler had seven kills, and also had four blocks to go along with three service aces.

Ryan Vorderer led the team with 12 digs and had a four assists. Adam Brewster dished out 46 dimes in the match, finishing the season with 40 or more assists six times. The sophomore also had seven digs and one block.

Nathan Van Dellen was second on the team with 12 kills on .280 hitting. Van Dellen was nearly the third Lion to record double-digit digs, but finished the match with nine.

Michael Chard and Nick Stevenson combined for 12 kills in the loss.

Lindenwood committed 26 attack errors and 27 service errors to Lewis’ totals of 20 and 22, respectively. The Flyers controlled net play, having 15 blocks to the Lions’ seven. The Lions attacked at a .239 clip, while the Flyers hit at a .230 rate. Lindenwood had 58 kills as a team to Lewis’ 48.

It was head coach Kris Dorn‘s final match at the helm of the Lindenwood program as he is set to move on to begin the beach volleyball program at Vanguard University in Coasta Mesa, Calif. Lindenwood also says goodbye to five seniors: Zach Biggs, Jake Duckworth, Ryan Moore, Blake Koppel, and Brian Keough.

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About Nathan Davis

Nathan Davis

Nathan Davis has been around volleyball his whole life. His senior year of high school he coached his own girl's high school volleyball team to a 27-6-1 record and a fourth place finish at the state tournament. He then went on to compete at the collegiate level for two years …

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