The Lindenwood men's volleyball team (0-1, 0-0 MIVA) fell in its season opener to No. 6 Grand Canyon (4-0, 0-0 MPSF) 25-23, 13-25, 18-25, 21-25 on Friday evening in Phoenix, Ariz.

MATCH OVERVIEW
Lindenwood jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead behind a pair of kills from Kadin Warner and a service ace by A.J. Lewis. The Lions maintained a comfortable lead throughout the set, never trailing and were able to take the opening stanza 25-23. As a team, the black and gold hit .400 in the first.

GCU settled in during the second set, getting out to a 9-4 lead, which prompted a Lindenwood timeout, The Lopes continues to put on the pressure, pushing the lead to 16-7 midway through the set.  The Lions were unable to draw much closer, dropping the second 25-13.

Once again Lindenwood trailed early in the third set, but after back-to-back kills from Lewis, the Lions pulled within four at 13-9. The Lopes settled back down and continued to hold a comfortable advantage in the third. The home team never trailed and took the third to hold a 2-1 advantage after three.

After trailing 6-4 to begin the fourth, a big block from Lewis knotted things up at 6 apiece. Each squad went back and forth in the stanza. Tied 14-14, GCU went on a 6-2 run to gain some separation. Lindenwood was able to pull it back within one at 22-21 after an aggressive play by Connor Sheehan resulted in a kill. The Lopes recorded the final three points, however and were able to win the set 25-21 and the match 3-1.

GAME LEADERS
A.J. Lewis (13 K, 3 Blocks, 1 SA)
Kadin Warner (9 K, .750 Hit %)
Connor Sheehan (43 assists, .500 Hit %)

UP NEXT
The Lions and the Lopes will be back in action on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. CT in Phoenix, Ariz.