Match # 10
Lindenwood (4-5, 0-0 OVC)
at Missouri State (4-5, 0-0 MVC)
Match Information:
Date: Thursday, Sept. 14
Start Time: 6:00 p.m. CT
Location: Springfield, Mo. | Hammons Student Center
Live Stats: Stats
Video: ESPN+

Match # 11
Lindenwood
vs. Arkansas State (7-2, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Match Information:
Date: Friday, Sept. 15
Start Time: 3:00 p.m. CT
Location: Springfield, Mo. | Hammons Student Center
Live Stats: Stats

Matchups
Lindenwood women's volleyball enters their final week of non-conference play as they head to the Bear Invitational hosted by Missouri State in Springfield, Mo. The Lions will play the host Missouri State on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. CT and Arkansas State on Friday at 3:00 p.m. CT.

Last weekend, the Lions went 0-3 after falling to Southern Illinois during a midweek match then traveled to the Stacheville Challenge and fell to Big Ten opponent Indiana and Valparaiso.

Missouri State sits at 4-5 on the season, the same at the Lions. They defeated fellow Ohio Valley Conference member UT Martin earlier this season by a score of 3-2. Arkansas State has jumped out to a 7-2 record with one of their losses coming against Eastern Illinois by a score of 3-0.

Last Week Recap
Lindenwood started last week with a 1-3 loss at Southern Illinois on Wednesday. The Lions picked up the set one win, but loss three straight to end the match. Addy McAleer and Nyah Wilson both had 14 kills during the match.

Defensively the Lions had three players with double digit kills. Jessie Seidel led the way with 18 while Allie Otten and Abby VanBuskirk had 15 and 11 respectively. All three players also had double digit assists with Otten leading the way with 17.

Against Big Ten opponent Indiana, the Lions were swept 3-0 but battled throughout despite picking up the loss. Rebecca Janke picked up seven kills and one block while freshman Jade Roth picked up a season high six kills.

The Lions also lost to Valparaiso at the Stacheville Challenge in Clarksville, Tenn. by a final of 3-1. Janke and Anna Kramer both led the team with 10 kills with Janke picking up eight blocks. Seidel also had 24 digs in the loss, but was named to the All-Tournament team by the coaches.

OVC Top Ten
Lindenwood has multiple Lions in the top ten of the OVC rankings a week before conference play officially starts. Janke ranks eighth in the conference hitting percentage with a .298 and ranks sixth in kills with 95. Her 34 total blocks also leads the conference. Janke's eight block performance against Valpo is the second most in a match this season by anyone in the OVC.

Otten currently ranks seventh in the OVC in assists per set with 6.56 but is sixth in total assists with 223. Lindenwood as a team averages 11.41 assists per set, the fourth best in the OVC. Otten's six services aces against ULM is the second most by a player in the conference this season.

Defensively, Seidel cracks the top ten landing at number six in digs per set with an average of 4.21. Her 143 total digs currently ranks fifth.

Players To Watch
Outside hitter Wilson needs just seven more kills this season to reach 400 in her career. On the season, she ranks third on the team in kills with 87 with a .168 hitting percentage. Wilson has already surpassed her total dig count from last season (69) with 81. She has four matches this season with double digit kills and has posted at least six in all but one match.

Otten is also closing in on some milestones for the Lions. She needs just 25 more assists this weekend to achieve 1600 for her career. She is also just 15 digs away from collecting 500 for her career. Otten posted a season high 36 assists in the second match of the season against St. Thomas.

Scouting the Opponent
Missouri State Category Leaders                 Arkansas State Category Leaders                       
Kills: Deja Bickers - 100                               Kills: Bailey Helzer - 86
Assists: Josie Halbleib - 163                        Assists: Erin Madigan - 312
Aces: Kate Owen - 17                                  Aces: Bailey Helzer - 19
Digs: Teagan Polcovich - 161                      Digs: Sarah Martinez - 120                             
Blocks: Azyah Green - 33.0                         Blocks: Haley Glunz - 20.0

Up Next:
Lindenwood starts conference play next week as they host four straight matches at Hyland Arena. Western Illinois will come to town to start OVC play on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 6:00 p.m. CT. SIUE then will travel to St. Charles on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 6:00 p.m. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.