Match 25
#12 Lindenwood (18-6, 9-5 MIVA)
vs. Northern Kentucky (5-16, 2-12 MIVA)
Match Information:
Date: Thursday, April 9, 2026.
Location: St. Charles, Mo.
Venue: Hyland Arena 
First Serve: 7:00 PM CT 
All-Time Series: 1-0
Last Meeting: W, 3-0 
Live Stats: #12 Lindenwood vs Northern Kentucky
Watch: ESPN+

Last Time Out
Lindenwood dropped both road matchups last week at #16 Lewis and #9 Loyola Chicago in three sets. Luke Kraft recorded 10 kills in each match to extend his 10+ kill streak to five matches in a row and finished the week with 21 kills to lead the Lions offensively. LU currently sits in third place in the MIVA with two more regular season matches to go and the Lions are still in contention to be a top four seed and host a first round MIVA Tournament match on Saturday April 18th.  

Scouting The Norse
NKU is led by Junior outside hitter Griffin Wheatley who has 146 kills on the 2026 season. Wheatley has played in 19 matches and has put down 10 or more kills in four MIVA matches including a season-high 19 kills in a five set victory over Queens back on March 26. In their first year in the MIVA, the Norse have clinched a spot into the MIVA tournament as an #8 seed and will play the #1 seed in the first round of the tournament on April 18th. 

In the last matchup between Lindenwood and Northern Kentucky, the Lions swept the Norse on the road behind 11 kills from Owen Walsh and 10 kills from Luke Kraft. LU hit .434 for the match while Zach Solomon finished with 41 assists and two service aces, and Caden Whiteside also added two service aces to help Lindenwood pick up their sixth win in the MIVA on March 7. 
 
Stats to Know

• With a win on Thursday, Lindenwood will have 10 wins in the MIVA which would be the most conference wins in a single season in the Lindenwood NCAA Era. 
• Brendan Louthain is 17 kills away from having 500 kills in his career. 
• Luke Kraft has recorded 10 or more kills in five straight matches. His career-high is seven matches in a row with 10 or more kills which he accomplished last season at Maryville.
• Zach Solomon has 2,582 assists for his career. He has 1,707 career assists at Lindenwood which ranks him seventh all-time in program history. 

Up Next
The Lions will wrap up the regular season with a home match on Saturday against #17 Ohio State. First serve is set for 3 p.m. CT and will be streamed on ESPN+.