ST. CHARLES, MO. - The Lindenwood women's volleyball team was defeated by Eastern Illinois in three sets on Saturday night in Hyland Arena. 

"Obviously this was not the result we wanted- EIU did an excellent job of responding to last night's game," said Head Coach Will Condon. "We had some opportunities in set two when our offense was clicking very well. Unfortunately, our ball control and defense were just not consistent enough. We were not able to generate the pressure we did yesterday and EIU took advantage."

OVERVIEW
After last night's dominant performance, the Lions looked to replicate their success against the familiar Panthers. However, in the first set, the Lions fell by a tough 15-25 final score after Eastern Illinois came out hot. 

The Lions looked to flip the script in the second, closing in on the Panthers but ultimately falling in a close 23-25 second set. 

Eastern Illinois went on an eight-point run right out of the gate in the third set, putting the pressure on the Lions immediately. It was hard for Lindenwood to come back out on top in the end, falling 15-25 once again.

Despite the loss, Mackenzi Sifuentes celebrated her senior night with another team-leading night, tallying the most kills for the Lions with 11 total. The Lake St. Louis, Mo. also had the best hitting percentage for Lindenwood with a .450. Madilyn Dement was right behind her in both categories, recording 10 total kills and a .400 hitting percentage on the night. Sifuentes ended the night with 11.5 points, while Dement tallied 11. 

"It's tough because it's Senior Night and you do not want to have a performance like this for our seniors," said Condon. "We told the team that if we can step back and look at the big picture of how we have done overall and the opportunity that we created for ourselves in the OVC Tournament next week, that is a big accomplishment for our first year in Division 1 and the OVC."

UP NEXT
The Lions will now head to their first OVC post-season tournament next weekend (TBA time and location).