The Lindenwood women's volleyball team (3-3, 0-0 GLVC) dropped a pair of close matches to Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (6-0, 0-0 SSC) and Flagler (4-2, 0-0 PBC) by scores of 3-2.

MATCH ONE OVERVIEW
For the second-straight weekend, the Lions opened up a tournament with a five-set thriller, taking the Eagles as far as possible. The match featured 129 total kills, as the Lions battled back from a 2-0 deficit to push it to a fifth set.

After dropping the first and second sets, 25-21 and 25-12, the Lions responded with a third set win, 25-23. With neither team separating through the early portion of the third, the Lions went on a 3-0 run, highlighted by three-straight kills assisted by Allie Otten, to take a 15-12 lead. As the Eagles continued to scratch and claw, Lindenwood was able to hold onto the lead and capture its first set victory of the contest.

The fourth set showcased Lindenwood's ability to hang tough and fight back, as the Lions trailed early, 7-3. With Embry-Riddle (Fla.) holding a 22-18 lead late in the fourth, the Lions rattled off five-straight points to go on top, 23-22. Down by one, 24-23, Lindenwood capitalized on a kill by Madilyn Dement and two Eagles' errors to even up the match, 2-2.

In the match, Lindenwood had more digs, 79-74, and finished with just one less ace than the opposition, 7-6.

MATCH ONE SCORES BY SET

• Set 1 | Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 25, Lindenwood 21
• Set 2 | Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 25, Lindenwood 12
• Set 3 | Lindenwood 25, Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 23
• Set 4 | Lindenwood 25, Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 24
• Set 5 | Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 18, Lindenwood 16

MATCH ONE LEADERS

• Audrey Weber led the way with 11 kills, as Mackenzi Sifuentes and Rebecca Janke finished with nine kills.
• Allie Otten registered three aces, Sifuentes had two, and Nyah Wilson tallied one.
• Sifuentes notched a team-high five blocks.
• Otten finished with a team-best 45 assists.
• Otten also led in digs (21), finishing just ahead of teammate Jessie Seidel, who recorded 20 digs.

MATCH TWO OVERVIEW
The Lions were unable to find much consistency is the opening set of the match, and trailed by as much as 13 points, 20-7. After a 6-3 run to bring the score to 23-13, the Saints took the final two points of the set to go up 1-0 in the match.

For the second-straight, the Lions struggled early, going down by seven points, 10-3. After trailing by eight points, 19-11, Lindenwood put together a 6-0 run to trail by just two points. A Madilyn Dement kill from Allie Otten evened up the match at 20-20, and the team took its first lead against the Saints on an attack error from Flagler, 23-22. Kills from Rebecca Janke and Mackenzi Sifuentes helped to cap a 26-24 second set win for the squad.

The fourth set win for the Lions, 25-22, tied up the match at 2-2 and pushed it to five sets. It marked the second-straight contest that has gone to five sets for Lindenwood, and the third in the team's first eight games. The Lions controlled it for much of the fourth, pushing the lead to 19-12, on a Madilyn Dement kill from Mackenzi Sifuentes. After a late comeback attempt from Flagler, Lindenwood won the fourth set on a Saints attack error.

MATCH TWO SCORES BY SET

• Set 1 | Flagler 25, Lindenwood 13
• Set 2 | Lindenwood 26, Flagler 24
• Set 3 | Flagler 25, Lindenwood 16
• Set 4 | Lindenwood 25, Flagler 22
• Set 5 | Flagler 15, Lindenwood 8

MATCH TWO LEADERS

• Taylor Gentemann led with 12 kills, while Rebecca Janke and Madilyn Dement each tallied 10.
• Allie Otten racked up 44 assists against Flagler.
• Nyah Wilson led the Lions with two aces.
• Otten and Janke each finished with a team-best three blocks.
• Wilson's 14 digs led the way for the team.

FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on Lindenwood women's volleyball, follow us on Twitter at @LindenwoodWVB and on Instagram at @lindenwoodwvb.

UP NEXT
The Lions close out play at the Flagler Saints Classic with matchups against Shorter (Ga.) at 11:00 a.m. (10:00 a.m. CST) and West Virginia Wesleyan at 5:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. CST).