Fort Wayne MVB Visits No. 7 Lewis

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Fort Wayne men's volleyball team visits No. 7 Loyola on Saturday at Neil Carey Arena in Romeoville, Illinois. This matchup will be Fort Wayne's 11th against a ranked opponent this season.

Gameday Information vs. No. 7 Lewis
WHO: No. 7 Lewis Flyers
WHEN: Saturday, February 18 | 8 p.m. EST
WHERE: Romeoville, Ill. | Neil Carey Arena
LIVE STATS: Lewis Live Stats
LIVE VIDEO: Lewis Live Video
SERIES HISTORY: Lewis leads 31-24
LAST MEETING: April 9, 2016 | Fort Wayne 0, Lewis 3 (25-18, 25-22, 25-19) | Romeoville, Ill.

Scouting the Mastodons
Coach: Ryan "Rock" Perrotte | Second Season (14-31)
Kills: 673 | Pelegrin Vargas (182)
Assists: 631 | Michael Keegan (514)
Digs: 451 | Michael Keegan (79)
Blocks: 106.0 | Graydon Schroeder (47)
Aces: 48 | Colton Stone (16)
Attack %: .229 | Graydon Schroeder (.376)
Fort Wayne will face off against No. 7 Lewis with a 4-12, 1-4 MIVA record. The 'Dons are coming off a four set loss to No. 10 Loyola, when they won the second set in extra points, and had a set point in the first. Fort Wayne is 1-6 on the road, with the single win coming at Alderson Broaddus. The Mastodons have a win over a Top 15 team this season, when they defeated No. 12 George Mason in straight sets.

Scouting the Flyers
Coach: Dan Friend
Kills: 618 | Mitch Perinar (181)
Assists: 573 | Matt Yoshimoto (514)
Digs: 384 | Michael Simmons (108)
Blocks: 122.5 | Jacob Schmiegelt (54.0)
Aces: 60 | Matt Yoshimoto (17)
Attack %: .329 | Jacob Schmiegelt (.433)
Lewis enters the weekend 9-3, 4-2 MIVA, but has a matchup with No. 11 Ball State before the Flyers welcome the Mastodons. The Flyers have two Top 15 wins, defeating No. 5 Pepperdine in four sets and No. 15 Penn State in five sets. Lewis also took a set from No. 1 Ohio State on Feb. 9. The Flyers fell in their season opener to No. 3 BYU in straight sets.

McNerney Defensive Co-Player of the Week
Redshirt senior Scott McNerney earned his first MIVA player of the week award last week (Jan. 31) after recording seven digs against No. 12 George Mason and 11 against NJIT, good for three digs per set. McNerney did not have a single reception error. Ball State's Adam Wessel was the defensive co-player of the week, while recording three digs per set against the same foes.

Schroeder Sets Program Record
Graydon Schroeder broke the Fort Wayne record in hitting percentage (with a minimum of 15 attempts) by recording 17 kills on 21 attempts with no errors, reaching .810. The previous record was set by Jason Yhost, who hit .762 (17-1-21) at Mercyhurst in 2008. Schroeder led the way for the Mastodons to have their best hitting night of the season, as Fort Wayne finished with a .380 percentage. Schroeder also tied the season-high number of kills in a match for the Mastodons.

Blocking George Mason
When the Mastodons faced off against No. 12 George Mason on January 27, Fort Wayne was not blocked by the Patriots. This was the first time that Fort Wayne was not blocked since January 13, 2006, when the Mastodons defeated Carthage 3-0. It was also the first win over a Top 15 team since February 2, 2015, when Fort Wayne topped No. 13 Ball State in five sets.

Freshman Killin' It
Pelegrin Vargas is starting off his freshman campaign with Fort Wayne on a strong note. He is the Mastodons' kill leader, totaling 182, which averages to 3.25 per set. Vargas had a career-high 17 kills at Harvard, while having 10 total matches with double-digit kills.

Last Time Out
Fort Wayne fell to No. 10 Loyola in four sets (25-23, 26-28, 25-20, 25-20) in Chicago, Illinois. Alex Dickmann recorded his first career double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs.

Next Time Up
The Mastodons continue their nine-match road stretch with a matchup at Quincy on Friday (Feb. 24). Quincy currently sits at eighth in the MIVA, with its only win in conference play against ninth-placed Lindenwood.

~ Feel the Rumble ~

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Players Mentioned

Alex Dickmann

Michael Keegan

Scott McNerney

Graydon Schroeder

Colton Stone

Pelegrin Vargas

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics