Match #26
Lindenwood (16-9, 10-3 OVC)
vs. Western Illinois (15-9, 9-4 OVC)
Match Information:
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 5th
Start Time: 6:00 p.m. CT
Location: St. Charles, Mo. | Hyland Arena
Live Stats: Stats
Watch: ESPN+

Matchup
Lindenwood's women volleyball returns home to Hyland Arena on Tuesday for a mid-week matchup against the Leathernecks of Western Illinois. This marks the only match for Lindenwood this week as they will have their bye weekend after Tuesday's match.

Last weekend saw the Lions fall twice to Morehead State in Kentucky as the Lions drop to 10-3 during conference play. It marked only the second and third time this season that the Lions had been swept by someone. It also marked the first back-to-back losses Lindenwood has had since Sept. 6th and 7th. LU now is in second in the OVC.

Western Illinois currently ranks fourth in the conference with a 9-4 overall record. Earlier this season, Lindenwood defeated the Leathernecks in Macomb, Ill. by a final score of 3-2. WIU split last weekend against Little Rock including a 3-0 sweep on Saturday.

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.

Last Weekend Recap
Women's volleyball suffered two losses last weekend to the Eagles of Morehead State. The Lions were held to below their season averages in almost every offensive category. Lindenwood was limited to a .170 team hitting percentage.

Three Lindenwood Lions posted double-digit kills this weekend including Nyah Wilson who led the team with 20. After posting over four during match one, Wilson came back adding 16 more. She also finished the weekend with 14 digs and three blocks.

Autumn Bax was second on the team with 19 kills while Addy McAleer added 16. Allie Otten had 50 assists averaging 8.33 per set. Libero Dana Grib made her first two starts of the season adding 27 total digs in two matches.

OVC Top Ten Stats
Janke jumps to number one overall in hitting percentage in the conference with a .348%.. Of those qualified for HP%, she is second for the lowest in attack errors with 25. Bax also ranks eighth in hitting percentage with a .285. Bax also ranks sixth in kills per set (3.13).

Otten currently ranks fourth in assists per set in overall stats with an average of 9.50. Her 893 assists are third total in the OVC. Seidel rounds out the group ranking fourth in digs per set averaging 4.82.

Scouting the Opponent
Western Illinois Category Leaders    
Kills: Keyana Cruse - 420
Assists: Maggie Craker  - 917
Aces:  Keyana Cruse - 21
Digs: Karli Wenzel - 458
Blocks: Juliana Schmidt - 74.0

Up Next:
Lindenwood will host their final two matches of the season inside Hyland Arena next weekend when they take on the Redhawks of SEMO starting on Thursday, Nov. 14th. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.