The Lindenwood women's volleyball team went 3-1 over the weekend at the Southwest Baptist Purple Bash Tournament. All three wins were over MIAA programs as the Lady Lions defeated Fort Hays State, Southwest Baptist, and Northwest Missouri. The lone loss came against Arkansas at Fort Smith.

In the opening match against Fort Hays State, Lindenwood won a close contest by scores of 25-27, 26-28, 25-23, 25-23, and 15-11. In the first two sets, the Lady Lions had a combined five set points, but they couldn't close out either game.

The Tigers nearly closed out the match in set three, as they were up 23-22. Back-to-back kills by Ellen Fandry and Taylor Holtmeyer, and a hitting error by Fort Hays State kept Lindenwood alive. In game four, Lindenwood led 23-18 at one point, until the Tigers scored five of the next six points to get back within one to make it 24-23. Katie Weber finally finished the game off for Lindenwood on its fourth try at set point.

In the deciding fifth game, the Tigers jumped out to a 7-5 lead. The Lady Lions answered with a 6-1 run, punctuated by back-to-back blocks by Holtmeyer. The two teams traded sideouts until a block by Weber and Erin Anselman ended the match.

Lindenwood hit .207 for the match with 68 kills and 26 hitting errors. Defensively, the squad had 81 digs and 11 blocks. Fort Hays State hit .216 but had three more hitting errors and five more serving errors than the Lady Lions.

Weber had one of her best matches as a Lady Lion, recording 19 kills and eight blocks. She had a .385 hitting percentage in the contest. Emma Brydels just missed a triple-double by two kills as she finished with eight kills, 33 assists, and 11 digs. Anselman, Kristy Dreisewerd, and Fandry all had double-figure kills. Fandry also had a team-high 22 digs, one more that Kaila Schrimpf. Kelsey Biggs finished the match with 22 assists and 14 digs.

In the Arkansas at Fort Smith contest, Lindenwood fell by scores of 25-19, 25-19, 19-25, and 25-16. The difference in the contest was Arkansas at Fort Smith's serving and Lindenwood's ability to get sideouts.

In the first two sets, Lindenwood recorded sideouts on less than 60 percent of Arkansas at Fort Smith's serves. Both times this led to 8-1 runs that eventually cost Lindenwood the set. In the third game, Lindenwood allowed just four points during its serve receive and had a 78 percent sideout percentage. That did not last, however, as Arkansas at Fort Smith closed the game out in the fourth set when Lindenwood had a 36 percent sideout percentage.

Lindenwood received a big game defensively from Schrimpf as she recorded 28 digs. Fandry and Biggs were also in double-figures for digs, and Weber had a team-high six blocks. Offensively, no Lindenwood player had double-figure kills. They were led by Dreisewerd with eight kills and Brydels with 23 assists.

The Lady Lions opened up day two with a 25-14, 24-26, 25-18, 26-24 win over Southwest Baptist. Lindenwood hit .235 in that contest.

After winning two of the first three sets, Lindenwood closed out the game in dramatic fashion. Southwest Baptist was just one point away from forcing a fifth set as it had a 24-22 lead. Lindenwood tied the match with back-to-back kills by Weber and Brydels. After a Bearcat timeout, Weber recorded another kill to give Lindenwood match point. On match point, Brydels and Weber blocked an attack for the win.

The trio of Kelsey Kennedy, Fandry, and Dreisewerd combined for 42 of Lindenwood's 67 kills. Kennedy had a team-high 15 kills, while Fandry had a double-double of 14 kills and 21 digs. Schrimpf had a team-high 27 digs, Weber recorded four blocks, and Brydels had 31 assists. Both Biggs and Schrimpf had three aces, and Patsy Erb was serving for the final three points for the Lady Lions.

Lindenwood swept Northwest Missouri in its final match of the tournament, winning by scores of 25-16, 25-18, and 25-23.

The Lady Lions dominated the first two games by hitting over .300 and keeping Northwest Missouri under .100. In the third set, the two teams were tied at 23 before Lindenwood scored the final two points. Brydels put the Lady Lions ahead and Biggs had the game-winning kill.

Brydels led the team in kills with 12, and also had a triple-double with 17 assists and 10 digs. Dreisewerd added 11 kills and Fandry had 10 kills. Biggs had a team-high 22 assists, Weber led with four blocks, and Schrimpf had 21 digs.

With the wins, the Lady Lions move above .500 on the season with a 5-4 mark. Lindenwood will face the No. 9 team in NCAA Division II, Central Missouri, next Saturday at 3 p.m. in Warrensburg, Mo.