The Lindenwood women's volleyball team (5-3, 0-0 GLVC) picked up wins over Shorter (Ga.) (4-3, 0-0 GSC), 3-1, and West Virginia Wesleyan (0-4, 0-0 MEC), 3-0, on Saturday.

MATCH ONE OVERVIEW
Following two fifth-set crushing losses on the first day of the Flagler Saints Classic, the Lions rallied from down 1-0 against the Hawks to take three-straight sets, and the win on game one of Saturday. In each of the Lions' three set wins, they did not allow more than 17 points.

The second set tied things up at 1-1, as Lindenwood notched 14 kills to Shorter's (Ga.) six. After trading scores for much of the early portion of the second set, the Lions went up, 15-12, and did not look back. A 3-0 run highlighted by a Mackenzi Sifuentes kill and Jessie Seidel service ace pushed the Lindenwood lead to six, 22-16. Taylor Gentemann tacked on the final two points of the set with a pair of kills to give the team a 25-17 set victory.

The third set win gave the Lions a 2-1 advantage in the match, as the team recorded 15 kills, and limited the Hawks to five (a match-low for Shorter (Ga.)). The team amassed a dominant 14-point lead, 20-6, as the Hawks had no answer. Lindenwood put together a 9-1 run to help take the wide lead, and ultimately won the set, 25-13.

Lindenwood secured the win with a 25-15 fourth set conquest. For the second-consecutive set, the Lions jumped out to an early lead, going up 13-5 on the Hawks. With the score at 18-11 late in the set, the Lions scored four-straight points, including two service aces from Amber Schade.

The Lions dominated on both ends against the Hawks, finishing with 19 more kills, three more aces, 20 more assists, and three more digs. Both teams tallied seven blocks in the Saturday opener. As a team, Lindenwood tallied a .239 hitting percentage, while holding Shorter (Ga.) to a .099 attack percentage.

MATCH ONE SCORES BY SET

• Set 1 | Shorter (Ga.) 25, Lindenwood 15
• Set 2 | Lindenwood 25, Shorter (Ga.) 17
• Set 3 | Lindenwood 25, Shorter (Ga.) 13
• Set 4 | Lindenwood 25, Shorter (Ga.) 15

MATCH ONE LEADERS

• Mackenzi Sifuentes had a team-high 15 kills, while Amber Schade finished second with 11 kills.
• Schade recorded four service aces, and Allie Otten and Jessie Seidel tallied two, each.
• Sifuentes posted six blocks to lead the way for Lindenwood.
• Otten finished with 41 assists, her third-straight match with 41 or more assists.
• Seidel tallied a team-best 18 digs in the victory.

MATCH TWO OVERVIEW
The Lions secured their second-straight win after taking down West Virginia Wesleyan in three sets on Saturday. Lindenwood is 4-0 on Saturday to begin the 2021 season, both of which have come in neutral site matchups.

The first set showcased a dominant effort by Lindenwood, as they picked up a 25-10 set win, racking up 16 kills to West Virginia Wesleyan's two. The Lions shot out to a 21-7 advantage, highlighted by kills from Madilyn Dement, Amber Schade, and Mackenzi Sifuentes. The final three points of the set went to Lindenwood, putting the team up 1-0 in the match.

The second set saw the Lions continue their strong effort, even as the Bobcats closed the gap, with the Lions recording one kill more than the opposition, 10-9. West Virginia Wesleyan led Lindenwood, 12-10, midway through the set before the Lions put together an 8-1 run to go up by five points. Lindenwood would not look back en route to securing a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Bobcats would go up early in the third set, 6-3, and the teams traded points before a Schade kill put the Lions up, 10-9. Lindenwood would hold on for the remainder of the set, finishing it off by a score of 25-17, and taking a sweep win in the team's final match of the Flagler Saints Classic.

In the match, Lindenwood amassed 17 more kills than West Virginia Wesleyan, 39-22. The Lions also tallied 17 more assists, five more aces, and 15 more digs. As a unit, Lindenwood registered a .290 hitting percentage to the opposition's .031.

MATCH TWO SCORES BY SET

• Set 1 | Lindenwood 25, West Virginia Wesleyan 10
• Set 2 | Lindenwood 25, West Virginia Wesleyan 18
• Set 3 | Lindenwood 25, West Virginia Wesleyan 17

MATCH TWO LEADERS

• Amber Schade led the squad with 11 kills.
• Mackenzi Sifuentes' three services aces were tops on the team.
• Rebecca Janke and Schade both tallied a block.
• Allie Otten had a match-high 31 assists.
• Otten also led Lindenwood with 14 digs.

FOLLOW ALONG
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UP NEXT
The Lions open conference play at McKendree on Thursday, Sept. 16 at 7:00 p.m. in Lebanon, Ill.