The Lindenwood men's volleyball team fell to McKendree in four sets on Wednesday evening in Lebanon, Ill.

Lindenwood lost the first two sets to the host Bearcats, despite hitting .292 in the second frame. After winning the third set, 25-23, the Lions hit a match-high .294 in the fourth, but to no avail as they fell to 0-3 in conference play to begin the year.

Head coach Kris Dorn pointed at the little things that have been the focus in the team's slow start. 

"We have to stop putting our own backs against the wall," Dorn said. "We did make some good adjustments and several subs stepped in and did a solid job."

Jake Duckworth recorded his fourth match with double-digit kills, and tied his season-high with 16. The senior also totaled 20.5 points for the match after reaching the 20-point mark for the first time of the season last Saturday at Grand Canyon. Duckworth also had two digs, one assist, and one service ace.

Sam Schindler added to his solid first season at Lindenwood with his sixth-straight match with double-digit points. The freshman had eight assisted blocks of the team's total of 20, and added 10 kills to his state line for the fifth time this year. 

Sophomore Adam Brewster led the team with 37 assists, one below his season-high 38 in the season opener. Brewster also led the team in digs for the second time this year with six, while Michael Chard, Nathan Van Dellen, and Schindler combined for nine. Ben Symonds and Blake Koppel tied with five digs for the match.

Joseph Mayer tallied six assists for the match, as Ryan Moore, Ryan Vorderer, and Chard each had one. Overall, the team tallied 65 points, two more than McKendree. 

"It's a long season, but we need to make a fundamental change today before we go into our next practice," Dorn emphasized.

The Lions falls to 0-6 to start the year, and 0-3 in MIVA play. Lindenwood continues conference play Saturday in Quincy, Ill. to battle Quincy in search of its first victory of the season.