ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (Jan. 30, 2010) – The #15 Red Flash men's volleyball team recovered from a 3-0 setback the night before against the Loyola Chicago Ramblers, but their efforts would not be enough as the Flash dropped a tight 3-1 (28-30, 30-28, 25-30, 28-30) decision to the #14 Lewis Flyers on Saturday.

The Red Flash fall to 6-3 overall, with a 1-3 record against opponents on the road (2-3, if one counts their neutral site win over NJIT on 1/22) and a 1-2 record against opponents from the MIVA.  Lewis moves up to 5-1 overall.

As would be the case for most of the night, the first set was tightly contested from the very beginning, as the Flyers would never be able to truly pull away from the visiting Red Flash.  The teams traded points until the Flyers opened up the first considerable lead of the night, when Nathan Klaas's kill put Lewis up 7-4.  

After being held at bay, the Red Flash were finally able to close that gap, going on an 8-5 run to tie the score at 12 thanks to a Nick Rivett (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) kill.  The teams would go back to trading points, but the Flyers would buck the trend with a Mike Iandolo/Chris Biscardi/Nathan Klaas block to go up 16-14.  

This would eventually lead to the Flyers building their largest lead of the set, going up 24-20 on a Brian Muesenfechter ace that force a Saint Francis timeout.  The Red Flash would come out of the time out, though, on an 8-4 run that was highlighted by a Ryan Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) service ace to make it 27-26 and was punctuated by an Alex Fortney (York, PA/Central York) (York, Pa./Central York) & Pete Freyer (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) (Orchard Park, N.Y.) double-block.

However, consecutive kills from Biscardi and Klaas put the match out of reach, closing out the first set 30-28 in favor of Lewis.

The second set would play out remarkably like the first, as neither team could build a lead larger than three points.  Jordan Varee (Conneautville, PA/Conneaut Valley) (Conneautville, Pa./Conneaut Valley) had six of his team-high 19 kills in this set, putting his team up 14-11 midway through the game.  The Flyers responded with a 5-2 run that was highlighted by three consecutive blocks to tie the score at 16.

Lewis would continue to force the issue, eventually going up 21-18 before Varee and Patrick McManamon (Huntingdon, PA/Huntingdon) (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) recorded consecutive kills to make the score 21-20 and force the Flyers into a timeout.  After the timeout, the Flash scored two more consecutive points to take a 22-21 lead.

The set would become tied at 24 apiece before an Andy Frontz service error gave Saint Francis the opening it needed.  Varee's kill put his team up 26-24 and provided them just enough cushion to eke out the 30-28 victory thanks to another McManamon kill.

The Flyers would respond in the third set with their most complete effort of the evening, leading the set coast to coast for the 30-25 win.  Lewis would open on a 7-3 run, and Klaas would notch seven of his match-high 26 kills in the third set.  The Red Flash would pull as close as 13-11 thanks to a Williams/McManamon double-block, but it was not enough as Lewis pulled away and took the set 30-25.

Looking for one last gasp, the Red Flash issued a spirited attempt in the fourth set, giving themselves a puncher's chance thanks to Varee's seven kills in the set.  They battled back from an 8-5 deficit to eventually tie the score at 13, and the two teams continued to trade points until a 22-all tie was broken on a Fortney attack error.

The Flyers built the lead to 24-22 and 26-24, but the Red Flash continued to fight back to tie it at 28-28 before Klaas contributed a kill and a block to finish the set 30-28, and the match 3-1.

The Red Flash had four players reach double-figures in kills: Varee (19), Rivett (13), Freyer (10) and McManamon (10).  It was the first double-digit kill night of the year for McManamon, who also contributed five total blocks.  Freyer led the Red Flash with nine total blocks, which also tied for the match-high.

The Red Flash will return to Loretto this week to take on EIVA Tait rival Juniata on Friday, February 5, before taking on another MIVA opponent (Ohio State) on Saturday in Columbus.