ROMEOVILLE, IL – The Manhattan Jaspers' Men's Volleyball program (2-5, 0-0 NEC) fell to the Flyers of #9 Lewis University (6-3, 0-0 MIVA) in straight sets (21-25, 27-29, 13-25) inside Neil Carey Arena on Saturday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Coming off its effort against the seventh ranked team in the nation, the Jaspers were back in action against the ninth ranked team in the Lewis Flyers.
- Trailing by two to open the match in the back-to-back, Drew Blonski and Kai Patchell found the corners to knot the match early on at two apiece.
- The Green and White would go toe-to-toe with the Flyers, before Lewis added five of the next seven points to widen its lead to as much as five.
- Led by Blonski and Patchell again, the Jaspers' comeback effort saw its deficit shrink to just two points, before the Flyers finished the job down the stretch for a four-point first set advantage.
- After falling behind to open the second stanza, it was Patchell again, who spearheaded the teams' four straight point run.
- Knotted at 10, Wojtek Nowak gave the Jaspers the lead, before Owens's service ace gave Manhattan a two-point advantage.
- With the Flyers going on a five straight scoring run, the Jaspers fell behind once more, before it was able to tack on another four points behind the likes of Max Larcheid down the stretch to pull within two of splitting the match at one set.
- Having three set points, the Flyers were able to stop the pressure put on by Manhattan and took the final two points off attack errors by the Jaspers to go in front by two sets.
STATS AND NOTES
- Freshman opposite hitter Kai Patchell led the Green and White with 11 kills on 29 attempts, while adding five digs to total a team high 11 points on the night.
- Junior outside hitter Wojtek Nowak posted eight kills on 14 attempts for a team high .500 hitting percentage, with two set assists, one block solo, and six digs for nine points.
- Freshman middle blocker Jovan Marjanovic logged five kills on 11 attempts, with one set assist and three blocks.
- Sophomore outside hitter Kasen Owens supplied four kills on 21 attempts, with the lone two service aces, two blocks, two digs, and seven points on the night.
- Freshman setter Drew Blonski recorded 25 set assists, with one block, three digs, and two kills on four attempts for 3.5 points on the night.
NEXT UP
The Jaspers return to the Tri-State area for a battle against the Chargers of Dominican University on Wednesday, February 4, inside the Hennessy Center in nearby Orangeburg. The match is set to begin at 6 p.m. and can be viewed for free on the CACC Network.
Follow Manhattan Men's Volleyball on X and Instagram (@ManhattanMVBall).
