ST. CHARLES, MO. - The Lindenwood men's volleyball team fell in a 1-3 loss at GCU on Friday night in their 2023 season opener. 

"For it being our first match of the season and against a ranked opponent, I think we showed some great resiliency and fight especially in the 1st and 3rd sets," said Head Coach Joe Kosciw.  "We saw a couple of flaws that we can control, and will focus on making better for Sunday and throughout the season. But we also saw some good things for us to continue to build on as a group and as we progress through these first couple of weeks of season."

OVERVIEW
The Lions put up a good fight in the first set, ultimately falling in a 21-25 loss despite a good, well-rounded effort. Freshman Ian Schuller had a strong first set as a Lion, leading the charge with four kills along with sophomore Clay Wieter, who also tallied four kills. Kadin Warner and Rodney Wallace were right behind them with three kills a piece and a pair of .750 hitting percentages. Connor Sheehan kept the offense alive with 15 total set assists, while Kyle Deutschmann held down the fort defensively with six digs and 11 receptions to lead the way in both categories.

The second set was a little bit more of a cruise for the home team, with the Lions dropping to 0-2 after a swift 15-25 defeat. Various mid-set errors on Lindenwood's side would ultimately be their downfall as the Lopes found ways to capitalize on those weaker moments. This time it was Warner and Schuller leading the team in the attack, however, each tallying four kills total in the second set. 

Set three was truly one for the books, though, with back and forth volleyball carrying on for multiple rounds of overtime. The Lions got out in front with an early lead, running up the score 6-1 right off the bat, which was highlighted by some strong serving from A.J. Lewis, who knocked down back to back service aces to account for the Lions' fifth and sixth points.

Grand Canyon didn't just roll over, however, and began regaining their footing on a couple good scoring runs. They wouldn't actually catch the Lions until things were all tied up at 11-11,and this would be the first of many times that the score would be tied during the set.

The Lopes were able to get into the lead for the first time and hold onto it all the way up until the score read 20 GCU-18 LU. Eric Winn subbed in to close things back up again, leading the Lions on a quick two-point run before GCU came back out on top with a mere one point lead. The Lions still did not stop fighting, however, and this proved to be true until they won the set in a dramatic 37-35 fashion, escaping the sweep with pure grit and determination. 

Warner put up a team-leading seven kills in the third set, while Lewis had his breakout set with five total kills and both of the Lions' service aces, showing up in various big moments throughout the duration of the set. Lewis also had a team-leading 15 receptions and zero errors, recording a perfect 100% reception percentage. As a team, the Lions actually had zero reception errors throughout the whole third set, making it their cleanest set of the night. 

Grand Canyon set out to finish what they started in front of their home crowd, however, capturing the fourth set by the biggest margin of victory of the night. The Lions would ultimately fall in the fourth set 13-25, unable to come back from the 9-20 deficit that stood at one point during the match. 

LEADERS
Kadin Warner (16 K, .520 A%, 1 BLK, 17.0 PTS)
A.J. Lewis (10 K, 2 ACE, 40 REC, 6 DIGS)
Ian Schuller (13 K, .235 A%)
Rodney Wallace (7 K, .500 A%, 1 AST, 2 DIGS, 2 BLK)

UP NEXT
The Lions will remain in Phoenix for a rematch with Grand Canyon on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. CST.