Match #31
#2 Lindenwood (20-10, 14-4 OVC)
vs. #7 SIUE (12-17, 7-11 OVC)
Match Information:
Date: Sunday, Nov. 24th
Start Time: 10:00 a.m. CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo. | Houck Fieldhouse
Live Stats: Stats
Watch: ESPN+
Tickets: Link
Clear Bag Policy: Link

Matchup
Lindenwood's women volleyball starts post-season play on Sunday, Nov. 24th at the take on the #7 Cougars of SIUE at 10:00 a.m. CT inside Houck Fieldhouse in Cape Girardeau, Mo. The Lions had their most success since joining the Ohio Valley Conference with a 20-10 overall record and a 14-4 OVC record which landed them the #2 seed this week.

Lindenwood comes into the tournament with one of the best offenses in the conference. During OVC play, Lindenwood led the conference in kills per set (14.48), assists per set (13.39), hitting percentage (.236) and second in points per set (17.68). Lindenwood has five Lions to have posted over 200 kills this season including Nyah Wilson (324) and Autumn Bax (301) who are over 300 for the season. Bax also set the Lindenwood Freshman Record in kills this season with her 291st at Little Rock last week.

To start the OVC Quarterfinals, Lindenwood will battle SIUE on Sunday morning. Earlier this season, the Lions split their two matches at SIUE in early October. After losing in four sets on day one, the Lions responded with a resilient five-set win.

The Lions have won four out of their last five matches to end the regular season. Lindenwood's lone loss came against the #1 seed SEMO on senior night. Earlier this week, Lindenwood took care of business at Little Rock winning both matches to secure the #2 seed (LU's highest finish in the OVC to-date.)

During their first two seasons in the OVC, Lindenwood has made it to the semi-finals in both seasons. Last year in the OVC semifinals, Lindenwood fell to SEMO in Charleston, Ill. in five sets. Lindenwood looks to make their first conference Championship this season. LU set records this year including their most wins (20) since the 2017 when the Lions were still in Division II.

Preseason OVC Rankings
The OVC released their 2024 women's volleyball preseason poll earlier this season where Lindenwood was selected to finish in fifth place. The Lions had the third best record in the conference last season earning as the third seed at the OVC Tournament.

Southeast Missouri State was voted as the preseason favorite in 2024 with six first-place votes and a total of 167 points. Last year's OVC Champions Eastern Illinois was picked to finish right behind them with 166 points and five first place votes.

Morehead State (163 points/five first-place votes), Tennessee Tech (152 points/four first-place votes) and Lindenwood (145 points/one first-place vote) round out the top five in the OVC poll. The top five schools were separate by just 22 points.

Lindenwood also landed two players on the Preseason All-OVC team. Wilson and Jessie Seidel were selected after both received Second Team All-OVC honors last season. Otten was voted as a player to watch as she returns for her sixth season.

Little Rock Recap
Women's volleyball wrapped up their regular season with two key victories at Little Rock this past Tuesday and Wednesday. Lindenwood was able to secure the #2 seed with those two victories marking the Lions' highest finish since joining the OVC.

Rebecca Janke led the team in kills with 27 averaging 3.38 per set while hitting a team high .344. Nyah Wilson was right behind her with 24 over eight sets. Autumn Bax took home OVC Freshman of the Week for her efforts after scoring 22 kills while hitting .200 for the week.

Allie Otten was also named the OVC Setter of the Week after posting 96 total assists over eight sets. Otten helped the Lions hit .210 against Little Rock with 116 total kills. Jessie Seidel led the defense with 52 digs and a digs per set average of 6.50.

Scouting the Opponent
SIUE Category Leaders    
Kills: Sydney Hummert - 294
Assists: Alyse Drifka  - 606
Aces:  Ainsley Ranstead  - 43
Digs: Alyse Drifka  - 281
Blocks: Taya Nordmann  - 134.0

Up Next:
The winner of this quarterfinals matchup will play the winner between #3 Tennessee Tech and #6 Little Rock on Monday, Nov. 25th at 2:00 p.m. CT. For more information on the OVC Championships go to this link.