No. 14 Lewis Men’s Volleyball Drops Five-Set Slugfest with No. 12 Ball State

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The No. 14 Lewis University men’s volleyball team fell, 3-2, to No. 12 Ball State Thursday (March 28) at Neil Carey Arena.

TEAM RECORDS

No. 12 Ball State 18-8 (11-2 MIVA) | No. 14 Lewis 14-12 (7-6 MIVA)

LEWIS LEADERS

Kills: Max Roquet (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) (21), Syver Drolsum (Vikersund, Norway/Toppvolley Norge) (13), Daniel Haber (Remsenburg, NY/Westhampton Beach) (9)

Digs: Drolsum (9), Roquet (8), Nico Paula (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Preparatory School) (8)

Assists: Tyler Morgan (Dike, Iowa/Dike-New Hartford) (54)

Blocks: Roquet (7), Shawn Baggs (Gilbert, Ariz./Casteel HS) (5), Morgan (4)

Aces: John Davis (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) (5), Drolsum (2)

SET BREAKDOWN

Set 1: Lewis 25, Ball State 19

Lewis went up 3-1 early with two kills by Haber. Later, a block assist and kill from Roquet pushed the Flyers’ lead to 6-2.

Ball State was able to get close with a 4-1 run that made it 9-8 Lewis. The Flyers then charged back ahead by taking the next four points, capped off by a service ace from Drolsum, to make it 13-8.

The Cardinals answered with a 3-0 run, but Lewis later had another 4-0 push including kills by Morgan and Roquet to make it 18-12. Ball State could get no closer than four points the rest of the set and Baggs finished it with a kill.

Set 2: Ball State 25, Lewis 22

The Flyers started strong again in set two by taking a 4-0 lead including an ace by Drolsum. Morgan added an ace later to make it 8-4, as Lewis kept a four-point cushion until it was 10-6.

Ball State then scored five points in a row to grab an 11-10 lead. After a back-and-forth stretch, the Cardinals used a 3-0 charge to go ahead 17-14.

Lewis secured five of the next seven points including a pair of kills by Drolsum to tie it at 19 but the Flyers were unable to take the lead for the remainder of the set. Ball State tied the match at one set apiece with a kill.

Set 3: Ball State 25, Lewis 21

The Cardinals had an early charge in the third set, taking five straight points to go ahead 6-2. Lewis broke the run with a kill by Baggs before both sides traded points until Ball State’s lead was 11-8.

A 5-1 charge by the Cardinals pushed the lead to 16-9 and Ball State looked ready to run away with the set after a 4-0 push later made it 24-14 BSU. The Flyers stopped the run and brought Davis in to serve and he rattled off four aces and a kill as Lewis went on a 7-0 run.

The Lewis run fell short as a service…