ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Urbana University men's volleyball was swept by seventh-ranked Lewis Friday night by final scores of 25-17, 25-13, 26-24.
UU (0-7) will travel to Chicago seeking its first win tomorrow night against No. 15 Loyola. Lewis improved to 4-3 and will host Charleston tomorrow.
Freshman
Liam Morrissey led the Blue Knights with a season-high 10 kills on a .350 hitting percentage. Morrissey also logged four digs and two block assists. Freshman
Jack Brinkman posted nine kills while junior setter
Chaz Hafer handed out 24 assists.
Urbana secured the opening point on
Tomas Beralas' ace and stayed within striking distance during the first set. A block from Morrissey and Kent sliced the deficit to three at 18-15 as the Blue Knights tried to steal momentum. However, the Flyers closed strong on a 7-2 run. Morrissey led with three kills in the first frame.
In the second, Urbana jumped out to a quick 2-1 lead off kills from Kent and Klamfoth, but the hosts gained control with a 12-4 spurt to move ahead for good. Lewis attacked at a .600 clip while the Blue Knights were limited to a .038 hitting percentage.
The third set was mostly in Urbana's favor as the Blue Knights created separation off back-to-back kills by Morrissey to gain a 15-11 advantage. Several players contributed to the momentum as Kent, Brinkman, Klamfoth and
Tyler Chavez recorded points during an 8-4 scoring run after the set was tied 7-7. But again, the host Flyers countered after a timeout and the score at 16-16.
UU moved ahead again 19-17 following an attack error, and then the rest of the match was extremely tight as the two squads traded points. A block by Morrissey and Klamfoth gave the Blue Knights their final lead, 23-22, and a Brinkman kill tied it 24-24, but Lewis would find a way to secure two straight points to seal the win.
Lewis had six different players post at least four kills, led by Jackson Hickman with seven. The Flyers outhit the Blue Knights .373 to .157 on the evening.
UP NEXT: UU takes on Loyola Chicago (2-5) Saturday night inside Gentile Arena. The Ramblers are ranked 15th this week and will be coming off a 3-1 win over Charleston Friday night.
