ST.CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood women's volleyball (3-2, 0-0 OVC) split their two matches on Friday as they host the Lindenwood Invitational in Hyland Arena. The Lions defeated UL Monroe during their second match to improve to 3-2 on the season.

Head coach Will Condon earned his 500th win late Friday evening. This also marked his 87th victory at Lindenwood. Previously, Condon coached at USC Aiken and Armstrong State. He has a career record of 500-247.

MATCH 1: APSU 3-0 LWU (22-25, 19-25, 24-26)
Austin Peay defeated the Lions in the second match of the Invitational as they Lions suffered their second sweep of the season. All sets, were close as the Lions tried to claw their way back multiple times.

Rebecca Janke led the way with 13 kills and a .300 hitting percentage while outside hitter Nyah Wilson contributed 10 kills and 11 digs. Wilson also had two of the four service aces by the Lions.

Lindenwood was held to just 10 kills in the first set and a .167 hitting percentage. Austin Peay's defense held Lindenwood's hitters in check as they did not hit over .200 in any set. APSU totaled six blocks including two solo blocks from Maggie Keenan.

Austin Peay's offense was led by Mikayla Powell who had a match high 18 kills with a .375 hitting percentage. Kelsey Mead led the Governors in assists with 33.

Lindenwood's Allie Otten had 25 assists over the course of the match and also added 10 digs. Libero Jessie Seidel also had 11 digs on defense. Freshman Jade Roth had a solid performance with five kills in her first career start.

MATCH 2: LWU 3-1 ULM (25-22, 25-21, 21-25, 24-14)
The Lions stormed back during the late match against Louisiana Monroe as they took the match in four sets to secure Condon's 500th victory of his career.

"Tonight was a great team win," said Condon. "I really liked how we responded in the fourth set and took control early and maintained it. It was good to see us lock in and make the decision that they wanted to finish the match."

"Every match is its own struggle and challenge to figure out your opponents and adapt to them and their adjustments. I was proud of how we bounced back from earlier today."

Lindenwood came out of the gates posting their best hitting percentage through four sets with a .227 in the opening frame. The Lions connected on 13 kills in that set including help from Wilson and Janke.

Wilson led the way for LU as she netted 13 kills and one ace. Janke contributed on both sides of the net with 11 kills, three assists and three total blocks including one solo. Addy McAleer also added eight kills and nine digs in the win.

Lindenwood was able to go up 2-0 after two sets with a 25-21 set victory. The lions hit .250 with 12 kills and were held to just two errors. Otten also made a statement with six service aces in the win while the Lions had a total of 12 throughout the match.

Despite ULM winning the third set (21-25) behind the likes of Taylor Thomas (10 kills and 10 digs) and Ariana Brown (10 kills), the Lions battled back in the fourth to close out the night. Otten also managed 33 assists in the win with Seidel leading the way on defense with 14 digs.

Lindenwood will be back in action tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. when they close out the Lindenwood Invitational against Indiana State. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.