Two Lewis conference matches in 2012 to air on regional TV

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Lewis will have two regionally televised matches in the upcoming season.

The Flyers athletics department recently announced that Lewis’ home matches against MIVA rivals Ohio State and Ball State in 2012 will be televised on Lakeshore Public Television.

The Lakeshore Public Television is a station available in 3.5 million households through DirecTV and the Dish Network. It also is available on cable in the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana.

Lewis will play Ohio State on Feb. 23 and Ball State on April 6.

The Flyers finished last season No. 13 in the national rankings and reached the MIVA Tournament semifinals for the fourth consecutive year. Coach Dan Friend has six starters returning for the upcoming season, including First-Team All-MIVA outside attacker Jay Petty.

Ohio State last season eliminated Lewis from the conference tournament and became the first MIVA team to legally win the NCAA championship.

Ball State ended the 2011 regular season in third place in the conference but was upset in the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals. In addition, the Ball State-Lewis rivalry is one of the most heated rivalries in the MIVA and in the last five years has even included players being restrained from getting into a fight on the court.

These two men’s volleyball matches are part of eight Lewis sporting events that will air on Lakeshore Public Television during the 2011-12 school year.

This is the fourth consecutive season that the television station will broadcast the Flyers’ matches.