The Lindenwood men's volleyball team won 3-2 in a thrilling five-set match against Lincoln Memorial University in the Lindenwood Invitational on Friday night.

OVERVIEW
The Lions came out on top in the first set to pull off the 26-24 win after a huge ace from Alex Pappas for the game-winning point. Connor Sheehan also had a noteworthy performance, being an integral part of the Lions' successful first set, tallying 14 assists and grabbing two digs as well. 

The Railsplitters took the second and third sets, despite the Lions' efforts to regain their momentum. Things were on the upward swing towards the end of the third, however, when Diego Negron had a big solo block to make things 20-24. The comeback wouldn't come until set four, however, where Lindenwood blew by Lincoln Memorial with a final score of 25-17. 

The Lions went up 8-1 right out of the gate, and continuously held the Railsplitters off until the very last point. Clay Wieter and Brian Schwob stepped in to be big contributors in this set especially. Wieter tallied four block assists and eight receptions with zero errors, while Schwob recorded six set assists and two digs along with one block assist to help Lindenwood stay in front. Kyle Deutschmann added four digs and five receptions, also being an active part of Lindenwood's defensive presence. 

Deutschmann would go on to lead the Lions in total digs with 12 overall, and also tallying 22 receptions with no errors. Negron recorded the most receptions with 28 total, as well as leading the way with 21 kills. As a team, the Lions recorded 14 total blocks as opposed to Lincoln Memorial's 9.5 blocks, which was a large part of Lindenwood's success. Cal Werths had a big day as well, leading the Lions with six block assists and adding five kills to his stat line. 

UP NEXT
The Lions will turn around to play Limestone in their second Lindenwood Invitational game on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. in Hyland Arena.