The Lindenwood men's volleyball team suffered a tough first-set loss Saturday night at No. 8 Lewis in Romeoville, Ill., which would lead to a 3-0 defeat to end the final of nine-consecutive road matches. 

After attacking a .464 clip in the first frame in a 28-26 losing effort, the Lions only totaled 21 kills between the next two sets to lose 19-25 and 20-25, respectively. Head coach Kris Dorn was enthusiastic about his team's performance in the first set. 

"If we had played our previous matches with tonight's mindset and focus, we would see dramatically different results," Dorn said. 

Blake Koppel recorded 12 kills on the night, after tallying 10 Friday evening at No. 10 Loyola. The senior hit .250, while also having three digs and one service ace.

Sam Schindler (.417) was second on the team with seven kills, while Nathan Van Dellen had six. MIchael Chard and Jake Duckworth each had four kills, while they combined for three digs.

Joseph Mayer recorded his third 30-assist match of the season, and second straight, with 31 dimes on the team's 35 kills. Adam Brewster contributed three assists on the night. Junior libero Ryan Vorderer had double-digit digs for the second time in three matches with 11 tonight, the second most this season. The team had three blocks, including two of the solo variety by Rob Chatterton. 

"We got better over the weekend," Dorn continued. "We will continue to strive. With some hard work, we will continue to sharpen our ability to transition defense into earned points."

The loss sends Lindenwood to 0-6 in MIVA action, and 0-9 overall to begin the 2017 season. After playing nine-consecutive road matches, the Lions will host Missouri Baptist at Hyland Arena on February 9 at 8 p.m. Missouri Baptist is currently ranked No. 4 nationally in NAIA.