The Lindenwood Lady Lions volleyball team went 2-0 on Thursday in the Locos Grill Transition Tournament at the Hyland Arena. Lindenwood defeated McKendree earlier in the day and obtained its most recent win over Minot State by scores of 25-21, 25-16, and 25-18. With this win, the Lady Lions obtain first place in their tournament pool.

Both teams were neck and neck to start the match with the score tied at 13-13. However back-to-back kills by Kristy Dreisewerd and Erin Anselman started a run by the Lady Lions to take set one 25-21. Lindenwood had the momentum entering the second set but started down to the Beavers 4-0. After a serving run by Patricia Erb, the Lady Lions would eventually take a 20-13 lead. A service and attack error by Minot State would give Lindenwood the victory at 25-16.

The third set was all Lindenwood as they started with a 10-3 lead and never looked back. The Beavers attempted to come back at 19-15, but the Lady Lions refused to let up as they swept Minot State with the final set ending in a 25-18 score.

Leading the Lady Lions in kills was Ellen Fandry with 13 while Kelsey Jo Vogler was nine on 12 attempts. Anselman and Dreisewerd recorded nine as well. Kaila Schrimpf led the Lady Lions in digs with 14 with Fandry and Anselman tallying seven, respectively. At setting, Kelsey Biggs led the way with 38 assists in the match while Erb record three of the teams six service aces.

Earlier in the day, the Lady Lions opened up the tournament with a victory over McKendree by scores of 25-14, 25-13, 20-25, and 25-18.

In the first set, it was all Lindenwood as they took the lead at 11-7 off a Schrimpf serving run. The Lady Lions eventually closed out the match winning 25-14 by a service ace. The second set belong to Lindenwood as well by taking a 10-1 lead to start the set. McKendree was able to battle back at 14-10 but was to no avail as the Lady Lions capitalized on numerous errors by the Bearcats to win 25-13.

The third set however threw off the Lady Lions as McKendree started to build momentum and built a 16-11 lead. Stellar defense and Lindenwood hitting errors resulted in a third set loss to the Bearcats by a score of 20-25. Starting the fourth set, both teams were even until seniors Biggs and Vogler helped build a 17-13 lead. By the end of the match, the Lady Lions built a seven point lead, sealing the win at 25-18.

Offensively, Katie Weber led the team with 17 kills, followed by Emma Brydels with 13 and Anselman and Dreisewerd tallied 10 apiece. Biggs recorded 34 assists while Brydels posted 25 for the match. At the net, Weber recorded four blocks while Vogler and Dreisewerd each tallied three.

Schrimpf tallied a team-high of 19 digs and Brydels finished the match with a double-double in assists and digs as she recorded 14 on defense.

The Lady Lions next match will be on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Hyland Arena against the second-place team of the opposite pool. All youth, club and high school teams are invited to attend for only $11 per team or student tickets for the semifinals are only $1.