In Short…
Loyola fell to Lewis in three sets in the 2019 MIVA Championship at Neil Carey Arena. Collin Mahan led the Ramblers with nine kills, and he was joined by Paul Narup on the All-Tournament Team.
 
How It Happened
Lewis jumped out to a 10-6 lead on the back of a 4-0 run. The efficient Flyers kept getting their kills, as six more in a span of nine points extended the lead to 19-6. Collin Mahan picked up back-to-back kills late in the frame to cut it to 22-16, followed by one more from Will Tischler, but the Flyers finished off their hot start to the match with a kill to seal the 25-17 set victory.
 
An 4-0 run for the home team propelled them to an early 7-3 lead. A 4-1 run with a pair of Paul Narup kills worked the deficit back to three, but after a Mahan kill made it 13-10, Lewis took off. The Flyers extended the lead to 18-12 to put themselves in the driver's seat, and became the first team to the 20-point mark with back-to-back kills. Mahan (twice) and Tischler registered kills down the stretch, but the tournament's one-seed completed the victory in the second stanza, 25-18, and went up two sets to zero.
 
Each team benefited from an early 3-0 run that resulted in point trading. The second such stretch for the Ramblers featured kills from Mahan, Kyle Piekarski and Tischler to put Loyola up 10-8. Lewis took eight of the next 12 points to take control of the tempo of the match with a 16-14 lead. The home team benefited from another run of 5-0 to take a commanding 21-15 lead. Loyola held off two set points with kills from Mahan and Tischler, but Lewis soon secured the 25^th point to complete the sweep.
 
A Look at the Numbers
-Collin Mahan became the first player in program history to finish his career with over 1,000 kills, 600 digs and 100 service aces.
-Mahan added one service ace in the match to finish 2019 with 49 – the seventh most for a season.
-Avery Aylsworth also went over 600 digs for his career, finishing the night with 10. His 609 career digs enters the summer with the sixth most by a Rambler for a career.
-Aylsworth's senior season total resulted in 249, the fifth most in a season in program history.
 
Up Next
Loyola is expected to return 12 players to the 2020 team, including two-time All-MIVA first team selection Garrett Zolg.