ST. CHARLES, MO. - The Lindenwood men's volleyball team knocked off the Lewis Flyers in five sets on Friday night in Romeoville, Illinois. 

"The guys again showed great resiliency and fight on the road," said Head Coach Joe Kosciw. "They maintained their focus and confidence throughout the match. This was another great team win, and different players step up each night. I'm excited to see what this group can do when new challenges stand in front of them. We need to be ready to put in a great week of work ahead of 2 home matches this coming weekend."

OVERVIEW
Things kicked off in a pretty even-keeled fashion, with the two teams going point for point with one another for a good portion of the set. The Lions ended up taking a slight 19-17 lead, forcing the Flyers to call a timeout in hopes of swinging the momentum back in their favor. However, the Lions kept the pressure on, taking a 22-18 lead after some dominant offense from the Lions, with Connor Sheehan playing a huge part in those late set points. The 25-21 victory came despite various attempts by the Flyers to derail the Lions. 

RaShawn Bonner was key in the Lions' dominant first set with his .667 hitting percentage, while Clay Wieter led the way in the kills category with four total. Rodney Wallace tallied three total blocks, while Kyle Deutschmann got things rolling defensively with three total digs. 

The Flyers got out in front to a significant lead in the second set, putting the Lions back on their heels a bit with a much cleaner attack this time around. Lindenwood was in a 9-16 deficit at one point, but the grit of this group should surprise no one at this point, as the determined Lions rapidly closed in on the Flyers to make things interesting at 21-22. Even when the Flyers led 21-24, Lindenwood still held on to get that 22-24 scoreboard. Lewis barely clung onto their lead, however, escaping the set with a 22-25 victory.  

Set three was much tighter, but the Lions remained strong to get the win, showing composure in even the toughest moments of the set. After a hard fought 25-22 win, Lindenwood led 2-1 heading into the fourth, looking to replicate Wednesday night 3-1 final score at McKendree. 

The fourth set started in a similar way, with the two teams going point for point up until the Lions were able to break away a bit with a 9-6 lead. The Flyers got themselves back in it, however, swinging the momentum back in their favor to get up 11-15 midway through the set. Despite the strength Lindenwood showed for the remainder of the set, Lewis was able to secure the 20-25 victory, forcing things into a fifth set after all. 

The Lions looked strong at the start of the fifth set, running up a 5-2 lead from the jump. Lewis looked to close the gap, tying things up at 5s, but Lindenwood pulled back out in front with three points in a row for an 8-5 lead, looking confident both offensively and defensively. The Lions were able to stay ahead, extending their lead 13-9 with ease, putting together a full-team effort all over the court. 14-12 added a little more drama to the set, but things ended on a Lewis error, securing the 3-2 victory for the Lions. 

LEADERS
Ian Schuller (16 K, 3 ACE, 4 BLK, 5 DIGS)
Clay Wieter (14 K, 6 DIGS, 4 BLK, 1 ACE)
A.J. Lewis (10 K, .318 A%, 4 ACE, 6 DIGS)
Connor Sheehan (46 ASST, 10 DIGS, 2 ACE)

UP NEXT
The Lions will return to Hyland Arena to take on Ball State on Friday night starting at 7:00 p.m.