The Lindenwood men's volleyball team (4-7, 1-3 MIVA) picked up its first conference win of the season after defeating #13 Lewis (7-5, 2-2 MIVA), 3-1 on Friday night in Romeoville, Ill.

MATCH OVERVIEW
Lewis jumped out to an early advantage and was the first team to 10, leading 10-7. The Flyers continued to stretch the lead in the opening set, and after going up 16-11, Lindenwood needed a timeout. The Lions were unable to draw any closer in the opening stanza and dropped the first set 25-20.

Lindenwood would regroup during the second in a big way, getting out to a quick 6-0 start in the frame after an Ian Schuller kill. The Lions never looked back in the set, and stretched its lead to 17-6, and during the spurt, Schuller posted six terminations. Lindenwood closed the second set in a flurry behind a couple of service aces by Clay Wieter and a kill from Owen Walsh, the match was all square at 1-1 after the Lions took the set 25-12. The black and gold hit .435 in the stanza and used six service aces to even the match.

The two teams went back-and-forth to begin the third set. With the score tied 4-4, Lindenwood earned the next four points, capped off by a Schuller ace to gain some separation. Lewis would settle into the set and take a 16-14 lead just past the halfway point of the stanza. The Lions would respond and close out the frame on a 9-4 run after RaShawn Bonner sent Lindenwood to the fourth with a 2-1 lead after taking the third, 25-20.

Lindenwood used its best hitting set of the night to close out the Flyers in four. After going up 13-5, the Lions never looked back and picked up the victory after Owen Walsh finished off the match at 25-17. In total, Lindenwood hit .448 in the stanza and picked up a road win over #13 Lewis.

GAME LEADERS
Ian Schuller (16 kills, 10 digs, four aces, .560 Hit %)
A.J. Lewis (15 kills, seven aces, nine digs .500 Hit %)
Connor Sheehan (41 assists, three digs)

QUOTABLE
"We had a slow start tonight in the first set, but the guys responded well to what we've been asking of them", said head coach Joe Kosciw. "We served tough, got a lot of quality block touches, and made some great plays defensively. I'm proud of the way they worked hard and were able to persevere when things weren't where we all wanted it to be after set 1. Playing on the road in conference is tough, and it was great to get a win tonight."

UP NEXT
The Lions will return home for a matchup with Loyola Chicago on Friday, February 23. First serve inside Hyland Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.