Match #34
Lindenwood (23-10, 14-4 OVC)
vs. Nebraska-Omaha (16-12, 14-2 SL)
Match Information:
Date: Thursday, Dec. 5th
Start Time: 4:00 p.m. CT
Location: Chicago, Ill. | McGrath-Phillips Arena (DePaul University)
Live Stats: Stats
Watch: TBA
Tickets: Link

Matchup
Lindenwood's women volleyball will compete in their first ever NIVC after winning the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with a 3-0 sweep over Morehead State last Tuesday. It marked the first ever OVC Championship for the Lions in the Division I era. Lindenwood is not eligible for the NCAA Tournament due to the NCAA Division I reclassification process.

The Lions will take on Nebraska-Omaha in the first round of the NIVC in the DePaul Region in Chicago, Ill. Their first match will be held at the McGrath-Phillips Arena on Thursday, Dec. 5th at 4:00 p.m. CT. The winner of this match will take on the winner of DePaul vs. Toledo on Friday, Dec. 6th at 7:00 p.m. CT.

Last week as the #2-seed in the OVC Tournament, Lindenwood won three straight matches to claim their first Championship Title. Lindenwood was led by OVC Coach of the Year Will Condon who helped the Lions post four All-OVC First team selections including Setter of the Year Allie Otten along with Rebecca Janke, Nyah Wilson and Jessie Seidel. Autumn Bax was also named the OVC Freshman of the Year and made All-OVC Second Team.

During the OVC Tournament, Allie Otten was named the MVP after securing Lindenwood's first title. She had a total of 110 assists during the three matches along with 33 digs, four aces and eight kills. Addy McAleer and Jessie Seidel were also named to the All-Tournament Team.

OVC Post-Season Accolades
Head coach Will Condon led a team of five All-Conference winners including the OVC Setter of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Condon also was named the OVC Coach of the Year after leading his team to 23 wins in only their third NCAA Division I season. Lindenwood finished with an RPI ranking of 113, the highest in the OVC. Their 23 wins are tied for the 31st most in the NCAA this season.

Otten was named the OVC setter of the Year this season after recording 1,257 assists this season. She ends her Lindenwood career as the Lions all-time leader in assists (NCAA era) with 3,454. All-time at Lindenwood, her 9.07 assists per set average also ranks first. In the OVC, she finished second in total assists and third in assists per set averaging 9.98. Lindenwood hit .216 as a team which also ranked third. She was also named the OVC Tournament MVP.

Autumn Bax made a statement in her first year at Lindenwood earning OVC Freshman of the Year and All-OVC Second Team. Bax has 325 kills this season which is second best on Lindenwood's team. Her .267 hitting percentage ranked tenth in the OVC while her3.04 kills per set ranked seventh. She set the Lindenwood Freshman Kills Record earlier this season with her 291st kill. Bax has 19 matches this season with double-digit kills including a career-high 20 against SIUE.

Condon also coached three other All-OVC First Team Selections in Rebecca Janke, Nyah Wilson and Jessie Seidel. Janke became just the second Lion during the NCAA era to surpass 1,000 kills for their career. She needs just eight kills on Thursday to become the Lions all-time leading in kills. Wilson leads the team in kills this season with 353. She needs 21 kills to reach 1,000 for her career. Seidel was the leader of the Lions defense posting 614 which is the fourth most all-time in a single season at LU. Her total digs ranked third in the OVC while finishing with an OVC best 5.12 digs per set average.

OVC Championship Recap
Lindenwood women's volleyball was crowned the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Champions after defeating #4 Morehead State by a final score of 3-0. It marked the first conference championship in program history at the Division I level and LU's most wins in a season since 2011.

Lindenwood offense took care of business on Tuesday posting 38 kills while hitting .246 through three sets. Otten assisted on 28 of those while recording nine digs and two aces. She was named the Tournament MVP after collecting 110 assists over the weekend (10.00 a/s) and 33 digs. She also recorded four aces, two blocks and eight kills.

Seidel and Addy McAleer were also named to the OVC All-Tournament team. Seidel had 11 digs in the Championship match while adding a team-high three aces. McAleer added a team-high eight kills with three block assists and one solo block.

Bax hit a team-high .353 with eight kills while adding four block assists. Janke also hit over .300 for the match after registering eight kills on 23 attempts. As a team, Lindenwood recorded eight total blocks and 57 digs. Three different Lions had double-digit digs including a team-high 17 from Wilson who also added seven kills. Dana Grib added 10 digs off the bench.

Lindenwood cruised to a first set victory by a score of 25-16 as LU hit .370 with 11 kills and seven aces. The Lions' seven aces were the most in a set this season and five different Lions recorded one. Lexi Menne and Seidel both collected two in the set win. After a Morehead State timeout at the 12-7 mark, Lindenwood went on a 4-2 run to increase their lead to 16-9. Lindenwood was paced by Wilson with three kills and an ace.

Set two resulted in another Lions victory this time by a score of 25-18. Lindenwood jumped out to a 10-2 lead including two kills to start the set by McAleer. LU never trailed in the set as they hit .229 with 13 kills on 35 attempts. Otten recorded 12 assists for the Lions in set two while Bax added five of her eight kills. LU forced Morehead State into six attack errors and a .103 hitting percentage.

Lindenwood took care of business in the third set winning 25-15 while capturing their first OVC Title as a program. The Lions closed out the set on a 3-0 run, ending on McAleer's eighth kill to win the match. Lindenwood's offense had 14 kills in the third while holding Morehead State to .059 hitting percentage and six errors. Janke added five kills while McAleer had four.

Scouting the Opponent
Omaha Category Leaders    
Kills: Kali Jurgensmeier - 332
Assists: Ivy Leuck  - 743
Aces:  Julia Owens  - 31
Digs: Shayla McCormick  - 288
Blocks: McKenna Ruch  - 110.0

Up Next:
The winner of this match will take on the winner between DePaul and Toledo on Friday, Dec. 6th at 7:00 p.m. CT. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.