It took the men’s volleyball team a come-from-behind victory to defeat the Lewis Flyers on Wednesday. Ohio State fell behind Lewis after dropping game one, but battled back with three consecutive wins to advance to the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament finals.

The Scarlet and Gray was led by junior Shawn Sangrey’s 22.5 points and 18 kills, while redshirt senior Steven Kehoe added 48 assists.

“Our seniors keep us on track,” Sangrey said. “We’re not going to get upset by losing one game. We had three more to win and that’s what we did.”

Game 1

OSU and Lewis traded points and were deadlocked at eight. From that point on, Lewis held a three-to-five-point lead and defeated the Buckeyes, 25-20. Brian Muesenfechter led the Flyers with six kills and seven points. BJ Boldog accounted for 14 assists.

“We couldn’t sustain any pressure on them,” OSU coach Pete Hanson said.

Game 2

OSU was down, 3-2, in game two when Kehoe connected with Kevin Heine on a backset after sliding to his left. Kehoe then served, winning the next two points, and the Buckeyes never looked back. Lewis brought the game within three points at 21-18, but after Hanson took a timeout OSU won four of the five next points to win the game, 25-19.

Game 3

The Buckeyes led for the majority of game three, the exception being a temporary tie at the first point. Jason Tobkin’s service ace put the score at 10-5 and gave OSU all the momentum in the 25-16 win. The Flyers took a timeout after that play and, from then on, the Buckeyes won 15 of the last 26 points. At one point the Buckeyes led, 18-8, which marked the largest lead either team had all night.

Sangrey said the difference between the first game and the rest of the match was better serving and confidence. Kehoe agreed, adding that it was important to stick to the game plan and avoid panicking.

“I thought we served a lot more aggressively,” Kehoe said. “We got them out of system, and it was tough for them to run a good offense.”

Game 4

It was all OSU in the fourth and final game. Although the Flyers had an early 3-2 lead, the Buckeyes won the match, 25-18. The game was put away when the Scarlet and Gray took a 17-10 lead after barely keeping the ball up on a nice kill attempt by the Flyers, and finished with nice blocks by Grayson Overman and Sangrey.

“We knew we weren’t going to lose the match,” Sangrey said. “We came with our confidence and our swagger, and I think that really helped us.”