CHARLESTON, Ill. - Lindenwood women's volleyball (16-14, 11-7) defeated #6 Tennessee Tech (13-17, 9-9 OVC) in five sets to advance to the Ohio Valley Conference semifinals on the campus of Eastern Illinois. This marks the second year in a row the Lions have advanced to the semifinals.

"I thought we came out focused and determined but we were not having fun like we usually do," said head coach Will Condon. "Once we settled down we were able to consistently score points and get enough from everyone on and off the court."

Addy McAleer led the Lions in kills and hitting percentage punching down 15 at the net while hitting .268. She was one of four Lions to have double digit kills in the win over the Golden Eagles. As a team, the Lions hit .199 in part to setter Allie Otten who had 47 assists.

"I thought Allie did a great job of spreading the ball around and keeping Tech's block guessing. We had about as solid a passing night as you can have against a team that has served us tough," said Condon.

The Golden Eagles took the first set on Monday evening with a score of 20-25. Lindenwood jumped out to a 4-0 lead early on. The Lions had a heavy dose of blocks in the first picking up four from Anna Kraemer and Ashley Geluck. LU's offense hit only .156 with 10 kills while TTU had 17 kills on a .364 hitting percentage.

"Tennessee Tech came into the tournament hot and better than when we played them earlier in the season," said Condon. "We knew it was going to be a tough one and they lived up to that challenge."
 
Lindenwood came firing back in the second set with a 25-19 win to tie the match. Rebecca Janke was key in the second with five kills and three blocks. The Lions controlled most of the set pulling away late with a Janke service ace to go up 20-14. LU hit .343 in the second with 17 kills while holding the Golden Eagles to nine kills.
 
The third set belonged to the Lions as they took a 2-1 lead with a 26-24 win. Nyah Wilson had four kills for the Lions despite the team hitting .091 percent. After being down 13-18 late in the third, LU went on a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the set at 19-18. Lexi Menne had two service aces in the set while Allie Otten added two kills and nine assists.

Tennessee Tech battled back in the fourth set after being down 20-16 in the brink of elimination. The Golden Eagles' defense held the Lions to just a .158 hitting percentage in the set. LU also had three of their 14 service errors in the fourth.

Lindenwood came out hot in the fifth and final set going up 4-0 before taking the win by a score of 15-10. The Lions' offense had eight kills on 17 attacks while hitting .353. Kraemer had three of her 14 kills in the fifth set to help power Lindenwood to the win.

"We need to give a lot of credit to Faith Atkins. She ran our bench and kept the team focused. Overall, I am proud of this team's ability to battle and find ways to win. We really have come a long way these last few weeks as a team on and off the court and it is showing," said Condon.

The Lions will now take on #2 Southeast Missouri State in the OVC semifinals at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 21. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.