April 18, 2008

Box Score

Romeoville, Ill. - The Mercyhurst men's volleyball team lost in the opening round of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Tournament Friday, dropping a 30-22, 30-22, 30-21 decision to No. 15 Lewis. The Lakers' season ends with a record of 5-20.

As the No. 6 seed for the MIVA Tournament, Mercyhurst hung around for much of the opening game until third seeded Lewis closed with a 9-4 run. The Lakers had seven more digs than Lewis in the first game and had two more attack attempts, but Mercyhurst errors were a deciding factor in setting the tone in the opener. With the Flyers clinging to the 21-18 lead, the Lakers had a service error, followed by a ball-handling error, an attack error, and a bad set that gave Lewis the cushion it needed.

Lewis again went on a run late in game two, scoring eight of nine points after Mercyhurst had cut the deficit to two at 16-14. That run helped the Flyers cruise to a 30-22 win for the second consecutive game.

Mercyhurst fell behind quickly in game three as Lewis scored nine of the first 11 points. But the Lakers stormed back to get within one point at 22-21. However, the Flyers ended Mercyhurst's season by scoring the next eight points in a row to close out the match.

Freshman Jonathan Gurr led Mercyhurst with eight kills. Junior David Hatten led the team with 25 assists, seven digs and two blocks. The Lakers hit -.011 for the match, while Lewis finished with a .365 attack percentage.

Mercyhurst's five victories signaled a three-win improvement over the 2007 season. The Lakers finished sixth out of seven teams in the conference, edging Quincy for the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament.