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The big blocking game of No. 2 Lewis did its part to make sure the Flyers wouldn’t have to travel for the upcoming conference tournament.
Lewis had a conference season-high 18.5 blocks as it swept No. 10 Ohio State 25-16, 25-20, 25-21 on Friday in Romeoville, Illinois, to clinch the MIVA regular season title and home court advantage throughout the MIVA Tournament.
Lewis in the victory out-hit Ohio State .317 to .063 and had four of its starters finish with more than five blocks. Middle attacker Jacob Schmiegelt had a match-high nine blocks, while outside attacker Greg Petty, opposite Eric Fitterer and middle attacker Bobby Walsh each added six blocks.
Fitterer also led the Flyers with 11 kills on a .500 attack percentage against the Buckeyes.
Ohio State outside attacker Miles Johnson finished with a team-high 10 kills. He also was one of the two Buckeyes to have more than four kills.
With this loss, the Buckeyes secured the No. 3 seed for the eight-team MIVA Tournament and will likely play Ball State or Quincy in the quarterfinals on Friday.
This is the second time in the last three years that the Flyers have clinched conference regular season title and the No. 1 seed for the MIVA Tournament.
The No. 1 seed has won the MIVA Tournament in five of the last seven years. However, the Flyers during this stretch were involved both times the top-seed did not win the conference tournament.
Lewis as the No. 2 seed upset Ohio State to win the 2012 MIVA championship for its most recent NCAA Tournament appearance. It also lost on its home court to Loyola in the 2013 conference tournament championship match.
The winner of the upcoming MIVA Tournament will receive an automatic bid to the six-team NCAA Tournament.