Lewis Athletics
Luke Rinne, Director of Athletic Communications
ROMEOVILLE – The Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) announced on Monday that former Lewis men’s volleyball standout Victor Rivera has been inducted into the MIVA Hall of Fame.
Rivera is one of five inductees who will be honored, including George Williams’ Ken Mattison and Marv Zimmerman, Purdue Fort Wayne’s Jay Golsteyn and Ball State’s Keith Thornburgh.
The MIVA Hall of Fame Class of 2019 will be honored at Lewis University on Saturday, November 2nd.
Rivera was the first three-time All-America selection in Lewis men’s volleyball history.
Rivera was an outside hitter for the Flyers from 1996-99. Lewis amassed a 104-32 record (.765) during that span, and the 1996 and 1998 Flyers won the MIVAtitle and played in the NCAA Championships. Lewis placed seventh, 10th, fourth and ninth in the final national poll during his career.
The Naranjito, Puerto Rico, product was selected to the AVCAand Volleyball MagazineAll-America first teams in 1998 and 1999, and to the AVCAand Volleyball MagazineAll-America second teams in 1997. He was a 1996 Volleyball MagazineAll-Freshman Team choice and a two-time AVCANational Player of the Week.
Rivera was also the first four-time All-MIVAfirst-team honoree and was the 1998 and 1999 MIVAPlayer of the Year. He was the 1998 MIVATournament Most Valuable Player, made the 1997 All-MIVATournament and was the 1996 MIVANewcomer of the Year.
As of 2019, Rivera holds Lewis career records for kills (2,521), kills per set (5.58), attempts (4,381), service aces (153), block solos (149), total blocks (567) points (3,032), points per set (6.71), sets played (452) and tied for first in matches played (132). He also still holds single season records for kills (915 in 1998, also an NCAA record) kills per set (7.44, attempts (1,568 in 1998) points (1,042) and points per set 8.47. Rivera also holds the single match record for kills (54 vs. Ohio State, 1998), attempts (90 vs. Loyola Chicago, 1998), hitting percentage (.941 vs. Mercyhurst, 1999) and block solos (eight vs. Loyola Chicago, 1996).