ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood women's volleyball went 1-1 on opening day of the season at the Linda Herman Volleyball Classic in Normal, Ill. The Lions started their season with a five-set loss against Central Michigan before battling back with a 3-1 victory over Bellarmine.

"We had a tough challenge today with two matches back to back and I feel like we rose to it," said head coach Will Condon. "We had our opportunities against Central Michigan but they made the plays they needed to make at the end of the match. I thought we did a good job of adjusting and fighting to create that opportunity."

MATCH ONE
Lindenwood - 2
Central Michigan - 3

The Lions dropped their first match of the season on Friday in a close 3-2 battle against Central Michigan. The Lions threatened with a late comeback, but CMU finished the match in the fifth with set scores of 22-25, 21-25, 25-23, 26-24, 14-16.
 
Addy McAleer led the Lions offense with 21 kills hitting .085%. Lindenwood's offense struggled early with attacking errors resulting in the Lions trailing in the first two sets (39 errors in the match). McAleer also had 16 digs and two blocks defensively for her first double-double of the season.
 
Nyah Wilson and Ashley Geluck were the other two hitters with double digit kills. Wilson posted 13 kills against CMU while Geluck added 12. Wilson also finished with 16 digs for a double-double.
 
Allie Otten was the Lions' main setter against Central Michigan posting 51 assists. Last season, Otten only reached over 50 assists once throughout the entire season (54 at Tennessee Tech). Otten was also one of five Lions to record double digit digs with 12.
 
Libero Jessie Seidel was a force on defense registering 31 digs against the Chippewas. Lindenwood's defense had 91 digs against CMU. Last season's team only reached that mark one time throughout 2023. Geluck, Otten and Rebecca Janke also had solo blocks defensively.
 
After Central Michigan narrowly defeated the Lions in the first two sets, Lindenwood returned the favor in sets three and four. Wilson had 10 kills in sets three and four while McAleer added seven kills and nine digs.
 
The fifth set saw Lindenwood hold the advantage early getting as close to victory as leading 9-7. Central Michigan then rattled off three straight points to take over 10-9 and never gave the lead back up finishing the fifth set with a score of 16-14.

MATCH TWO
Lindenwood - 3
Bellarmine - 1

Lindenwood responded nicely in their second match of the day with a 3-1 victory over Bellarmine. The Lions hit .187 in the match and were helped with the Knights 17 service errors. The set scores were: 25-23, 25-21, 22-25, 25-19.

"Bellarmine did a good job of coming right at us but we were able to hold them off," said Condon. "We played a lot of volleyball in a short period of time but we found a way to score points and build leads."

Anna Kramer and Janke led the Lions in match two with 11 kills each with both hitters being effective. Janke was second on the team in hitting percentage against Bellarmine with a .324% with 34 attacks and no errors while Kraemer hit .300%.

Geluck had herself another standout performance on Friday with her second straight match with 10+ kills. Geluck had 10 kills on 21 attacks with a team high .333% hitting percentage. Geluck and Janke also combined for five blocks in the middle.

Wilson was one kill shy of her second straight double-double. The senior outside hitter had nine kills and 12 assists with a team high two aces. Lindenwood had 49 kills during the match while Bellarmine had 50. Otten also added 37 assists and libero Seidel had a team high 16 digs.

Lindenwood took control of the match early on through the first two going up 2-0. Janke led the way in the first set with five of her 11 kills while Otten added 11 assists. Kraemer then added five kills of her own in the second while hitting .429.

After Bellarmine took the third set, Lindenwood finished with match with a 25-19 victory. The Lions held the Knights to a .081 hitting percentage through the final set. Bellarmine had six service errors in the final set.

"For the first day of the season I thought we could not ask for much more," said Condon. "We learned a few things but still have plenty of room to grow. We need a more consistent level but that will com."

Lindenwood will be back in action tomorrow evening to close out the Linda Herman Volleyball Classic against the host school Illinois State at 6:30 p.m. CT. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.