Petty Records 23 Kills In No. 7 Lewis Men's Volleyball's 3-1 Win Over No. 8 Ohio State
ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Behind 23 kills from
junior Jay
Petty (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) and a
12.5 to 5.5 advantage in blocks, No. 7 Lewis men’s volleyball
defeated defending National Champion No. 8 Ohio State 3-1 (15-25,
25-21, 25-18, 25-18) Thursday (Feb. 23) evening in front of a
capacity crowd at Neil Carey Arena.
Lewis started slow, dropping the opening set by 10 points and
getting out-hit .526 to .095. Petty was a big reason Lewis rallied
to win the match as recorded 22 of his 23 kills in the final three
sets.
The match seemed to turn in the second set. Lewis trailed 9-7 when
four straight Lewis points forced the Buckeyes to ask for time.
Petty started the four-point burst with a kill. The Flyers took the
frame by four points and the next two by identical 25-18 scores.
Lewis jumped out to a 4-1 lead in both the third and fourth
sets.
“After that first game he (Jay) was our go to guy,”
Lewis head coach Dan
Friend said. “In big matches you’re going to
have to have guys step up and do that.”
Lewis committed just two service errors in the final two sets.
“As a team we really adapted as the match went on,”
Friend said.
Petty finished with a .425 hitting percentage with six block
assists and four digs. Lewis received big contributions from their
middles. Senior Matt
Gallik (Evergreen Park, Ill./Brother Rice) hit .600 with
seven kills and six block assists. Senior Aaron
Flick (North Ridgeville, Ohio/St. Edward) hit .533
(8-0-15) while recording four blocks (one solo).
Sophomore setter BJ
Boldog (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) ran a Lewis offense
which out-hit the Buckeyes .343 to .276. Boldog finished with 44
assists and six block assists.
“BJ did a great job distributing the ball from some different
locations and some different spots,” Friend said.
Boldog combined with Gallik for a block on match point.
The crowd, dressed in black for a “Black Out”, saw
Lewis defeat Ohio State at Neil Carey Arena for a second
consecutive season. Last year the Flyers were the only Midwestern
Intercollegiate Volleyball Association team to defeat Ohio
State.
The Buckeyes fall to 11-5 (2-1 MIVA). Lewis improves to 11-3 (3-1
MIVA). Lewis is at Lindenwood on Saturday.
