ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood Men's Volleyball team (18-4, 9-3 MIVA) defeated Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday afternoon in Hyland Arena behind 58 kills from the Lions. Luke Kraft led the team with 15 kills, while Caden Whiteside and Amir Grant each finished the match with 11. Zach Solomon also set the Lindenwood NCAA Era record for service aces in a single season as the Senior Setter picked up two service aces to put his season total at 51. The previous record was held by Colin Hackworth back in 2014 who had 50. 

In the opening set, Jake Schreiner led the way offensively with three kills while Kraft, Whiteside, and Grant each added two. Despite hitting .192 in the first set, the Lions held the Mastodons to a hitting percentage of -.074 and recorded four total blocks en route to winning the first set 25-22. Grant had three blocks in the first set, including a solo block and two block assists. In the second set, Purdue Fort Wayne started on a 13-5 run and evened the set at one with a 25-20 victory. Lindenwood was able to cut the deficit down to three late in the set by a score of 23-20 after two Mastodon errors and an Owen Walsh kill, but PFW closed out the set on a 2-0 run. 

In the third set, Lindenwood maintained an early 8-7 lead and used a 3-0 run to open up a four point lead. Luke Kraft and Caden Whiteside highlighted the run as Kraft picked up two kills and Whiteside served up an ace to give the Lions some breathing room. Later in the set, LU used a 6-1 run behind kills from Kraft, Whiteside, and Grant to take control of the set at 18-11. Kraft would close out the set with his second serve ace of the set and fourth service ace of the match to put Lindenwood back in front two sets to one with a 25-18 set three win. Set four saw both teams trade points throughout, but the Mastodons finally seized control late in the set by using a 4-1 run to end the set and even the match once again at two sets a piece. Jake Schreiner and Amir Grant each had four kills in the fourth set, but Purdue Fort Wayne hit .455 as a team and picked up two blocks in the set to force a winner take all fifth set. 

In the decisive set, Luke Kraft had two kills early on as the Lions jumped out to a 5-2 lead. However, Purdue Fort Wayne would not go down without a fight as they eventually took a 12-10 lead late in the set and forced a Lindenwood timeout. Out of the break, Amir Grant delivered his second solo block of the match to cut the Mastodon lead to 13-12 and followed his solo block with a kill to even the set at 13. Both squads would battle the rest of the way as the set was tied six different times, but Lindenwood was able to finally deliver the final blow as a PFW attack error and a Luke Kraft service ace ended the match with Lindenwood taking a 21-19 set five victory. Kraft finished the match with a season-high six service aces and was one away from tying his career-high. 

The Lions will now hit the road next week with matchups against Lewis and Loyola for their final road trip of the 2026 regular season. First serve against Lewis is set for 7 p.m. CT on Thursday, April 2.