ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood Lions (22-3, 12-1 OVC) took the first of this week's two matches against Tennessee State (0-24, 0-13 OVC) with a resounding 3-0 sweep at Hyland Arena on Thursday evening. The win keeps the pressure on at the top of the conference standings, with the Lions in pursuit of their first OVC regular season title and second overall league championship.
In the first set, the Tigers kept things close early with the score at 15-11 at the first media timeout. Following the break, the Lions broke the set open with a 10-2 run to win the set by a score of 25-13. Lindenwood were efficient with their attacking hitting .533 as a team in the opening frame.
Kaci Johnson was impactful, handing out 14 assists to start the night.
The Tigers gained momentum late in set two following an unsuccessful challenge from Lindenwood that left the score at 22-19, but the Lions were able to close out the frame and take firm control of the match with a 25-21 win.
Lauren Ortwerth was busy through the opening two sets, leading the team with 17 attack attempts that she converted into 7 total kills.
Lindenwood finished the match in three, capturing the third set by a score of 25-12. The Lions ran away with the set following a 10-1 run to make the score 15-6 at the media timeout. Lindenwood stepped up their defensive performance in the third set and held the Tigers to a .080 hitting percentage with the Lions putting up their first two blocks of the night to help close out the victory.
Lauren Ortwerth led the team offensively with nine kills. She was followed by
Autumn Bax with eight kills on an efficient.583 hitting percentage. As a team, the Lions hit a combined .364 in the match.
Kaci Johnson put in another strong performance, providing a total of 39 assists for an average of 13 assists per set while adding six kills. She also gave the Lions two aces while tallying six digs defensively.
Meanwhile,
Alayna Rudebeck led the Lions with 11 digs on the back row.
Quotable
"I thought TSU did a good job of making us work to score points. We did a good hob of being patient and playing through some tougher moments." –
Will Condon, Lindenwood Head Coach
Next Up
Lindenwood hosts their Senior Day match against Tennessee State at 5:00 p.m. on Friday.
