ST. CHARLES, MO. - The Lindenwood women's volleyball team fell to both Bryant and Brown to round out their weekend at the UConn Dog Pound Challenge on Saturday in Connecticut.
"We were just too inconsistent with our focus and level of play to finish sets today," said Head Coach
Will Condon. "We did a good job of competing and creating opportunities but just could not find ways to close out sets."
Against Bryant, the Lions fought hard, but the opposite side cranked out 25-23, 25-19 and 28-26 wins despite Lindenwood's pressure.
Mackenzi Sifuentes had a strong day in all categories, sitting atop the Lindenwood leaderboard in kills (12), blocks (3) and hitting percentage (.344) after three sets.
Rebecca Janke was close behind her with 11 total kills.
Abby VanBuskirk was another Lion leader, recording 30 set assists and the most digs of the day as well with 13 total.
Nyah Wilson and
Madilyn Dement each recorded 12 digs, also setting a strong tone defensively.
Later in the day, Lindenwood knocked off a set against Brown and played another hard-fought match, taking the third set by a score of 25-23. Brown took the first set (18-25), the second (25-27) and the last (17-25). Dement took the top slot in the kills category, recording 14 total. Janke and VanBuskirk tag teamed for the most block assists against Brown, each tallying seven overall.
Jessie Seidel was a defensive powerhouse, leading the way with 13 digs, while Wilson was close behing again with 12 total. Sifuentes had the best hitting percentage for the second match in a row, knocking down the second most kills (12) for the Lions and a strong .226 hitting percentage.
"All weekend we were playing some experienced and competitive teams and the challenge was good for us," said Condon. "We learned we have what it takes to compete at this level. We just need to maintain that level to close out sets and create opportunities to win matches."
Up next, the Lions will begin their conference run with a trip to Morehead State on Friday, September 23rd for a 6pm start time.
