Upsets were in the air on Thursday night as No. 9 Lewis and No. 18 Concordia-Irvine held their home courts for huge sweeps. The Flyers took out No. 4 Ohio State with help from a 21 kill night by outside hitter Ryan Coenen and an all-around statistical win. Concordia downed No. 13 Grand Canyon with a balanced offensive attack, including three double-digit kill efforts.
Also on the Thursday slate was a battle in the Conference Carolinas league with Emmanuel besting Erskine in four sets.
#9 Lewis def. #4 Ohio State 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-23)
- Lewis moves to 10-4, 4-1 MIVA); Ohio State falls to 11-3, 4-1 MIVA)
- Romeoville, Illinois
- Box Score
- Ohio State Recap / Lewis Recap
Key Stats: Lewis won every facet of the stat sheet in a clean sweep of visiting Ohio State Thursday night, ending the Buckeyes’ eight match win streak and handing them their first conference loss. The Flyers outhit OSU (.373 to .338) and bested the Buckeyes in kills (39-38), blocks (5-2) and aces (5-1) en route to the win.
Stat Leaders: Redshirt sophomore outside Ryan Coenen downed a match-high 21 kills, while hitting at a .514 clip and adding six digs and two of the team’s five aces. Redshirt junior opposite Mitch Perinar was next on the team with eight kills and sophomore outside Kyle Bugee added five. Redshirt freshman middle Tyler Mitchem put up a team-high four stuffs, while junior setter Matt Yoshimoto added three.
Redshirt freshman opposite Jake Hanes notched 16 kills and senior outside Nicolas Szerszen added 12 to pace the Buckeyes. Szerszen hit at a team-best .500 clip and added four digs. Senior outside Maxime Hervoir chipped in six kills and six digs and served up the team’s lone ace, but hit just .071 in the match.
It Was Over When: Ohio State scored seven of the first 10 points in Set 3 with three Lewis miscues and two Hanes putaways. The Flyers knotted the score at 7-all with kills by Coenen, Perinar and Bugee. Trailing by three at 11-8, Coenen delivered three straight kills for Lewis, tying it up once again. The teams traded points, leading to 10 more ties, last at 21-all. Coenen, TJ Murray and Perinar put the Flyers on the hill at 24-22. Hanes kept the match going with a putaway, but followed with a service error to end the night.
#18 Concordia-Irvine def. #13 Grand Canyon 3-0 (36-34, 25-19, 30-28)
- Concordia moves to 6-6, 2-2 MPSF; Grand Canyon falls to 11-6, 1-4 MPSF
- Irvine, California
- Box Score
- GCU Recap / Concordia Recap
Key Stats: The homestanding Eagles edged Grand Canyon in kills (52-49), efficiency (.287 to .271) and aces (5-3), but trailed in blocks (8.5 to 7). Concordia won the match hitting nearly .350 or better in Sets 1 and 2 and held on despite being outdone .298 to .192 in the final stanza.
Stat Leaders: Senoir outside Jonathan Predney (12), redshirt sophomore outside Raymond Barsemian (10) and senior opposite Josiah Bergt (10) were the three-headed monster that guided the Eagles’ balanced offensive attack. Senior middle Taylor Falduti (8) and junior middle Hunter Howell (7) also complicated things for the GCU defense. Predney hit at a team-best .393 clip, while also adding a pair of blocks and an ace. Barsemian chipped in seven digs and two aces, while Falduti also notched two perfect serves. Howell put up a team-high four blocks.
Redshirt senior middle Ashton King and senior outside Cody Williams led the Lopes with 13 and 11 kills respectively, while also turning in a team-best three blocks apiece. King hit at a team-leading .545 clip with just one error. Freshman outside Trevor Weary added 10 digs and seven kills in his first career start.
It Was Over When: Concordia led 11-7 in the first half of Set 3 as Barsemian served up two aces and Falduti added a third. Down four again at 13-9, Grand Canyon rallied with kills by three different players to tie things up at 14. The teams tied seven more times, last at 21, before a kill by King and a hitting error gave GCU a 23-21 edge. Another King putaway gave the Lopes a set-point try at 24-22. Predney and Bergt answered the call to tie the score at 24. Grand Canyon had four more set point chances, last at 28-27, but couldn’t finish. The Eagles came through with consecutive kills by Falduti, Barsemian and Bergt to steal away the 30-28 win and clinch the sweep.
Emmanuel def Erskine 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-22, 25-23)
- Emmanuel moves to 5-8, 3-4 Conference Carolinas; Erskine falls to 2-10, 1-6 Conference Carolinas
- Franklin Springs, Georgia
- Box Score
- Erskine Recap / Emmanuel Recap
Key Stats: Despite hitting .000 in the final stanza, Emmanuel found a way to win with help from four blocks and four Erskine service errors. For the match, however, the Lions outhit the Flying Fleet .264 to .200 and outdid the visitors 53-42 in kills and 11-8 in blocks. Erskine managed one more ace (5-4).
Stat Leaders: Sophomore middle Don Thompson paced Emmanuel with 16 kills, a .500 hitting effort and four blocks. Sophomore outside Aleksa Lakic followed with 13 kills, four blocks and two aces. Sophomore middle Alejandro Robles added seven kills and a team-high nine digs to go with three blocks. Junior setter Demetrius Maloney was all over the stat sheet with 42 assists, eight digs and six kills, while hitting .500.
Freshman outsides Daniel Hermida and Kevin Braceros combined for 23 of the team’s 42 kills, turning in 12 and 11 respectively. Each also served up two of the team’s five aces. Freshman middle JP Payne was the team’s top blocker with four stuffs to go with four kills, while freshman outside Josh Bragg managed a team-high seven digs to go with four kills and a team-best .375 hitting effort.
It Was Over When: Erskine led by as many as four in Set 4, going ahead 9-5 as Emmanuel committed four errors and Payne and Jones combined for a pair of blocks. Down 12-8, the Lions began chipping away, working their way back into a tie at 15. Three Fleet miscues and kills by three different players aided the comeback. A kill and solo stuff by Friddle and a kill and a block by Payne put Erskine up three at 20-17. Still trailing by three at 21-18, Emmanuel turned it around, closing out the match on a 7-2 run. Three Fleet service errors, three stuffs by Thompson and an ace by Aleksa Lakic secured the home win for the Lions.
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