Matchday Info
Lindenwood Women's Volleyball at Billiken Invitational
Aug. 28-30 | Saint Louis, Mo. | Chaifetz Pavilion
Match 1: vs. UIC | Friday at 3:00 p.m. |
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Live Stats
Match 2: vs. Buffalo | Saturday at 11:00 a.m. |
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Live Stats
Match 3: at Saint Louis | Sunday at 2:00 p.m. |
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Live Stats
First Serve
The 2026 Lindenwood women's volleyball season gets underway this weekend with the Lions set to play three matches at the SLU invitational, beginning with a matinee against UIC on Friday. LU will also square off with Buffalo and the Billikens during their three-day residency at Chaifetz Pavilion.
Returning Experience
The Lions will lean on a wealth of experience in 2026. Lindenwood returns a lions' share of production off last season's team, bringing back their top four scorers from 2025. The Lions also return 113 of 162 total starts from last season and seven players who played in at least 24 matches. 10 of LU's 17 players are juniors and seniors.
Bax in Business
Among Lindenwood returners is 2025 First Team All-OVC selection and 2024 Freshman of the Year
Autumn Bax, who posted a team-leading 348 kills on a .241 hitting percentage last season. Bax finished fifth in the OVC with an average of 3.41 kills per set while her 3.75 points per set were eighth most in the league.
Players to Watch
Dana Grib and
Ashley Geluck were named OVC Players to Watch for the upcoming season.
Ashley Geluck finished second on the team last season in kills (273), aces (26), and blocks (47), while Grib led the Lions with 437 digs last season for a clip of 4.28 digs per set, which was the fourth highest average in the Ohio Valley Conference.
New Additions
The Lions welcome five newcomers to this season's roster, including three transfers and two freshmen. The transfer class features two former All-Americans at the Division-II and junior college levels in
Susanna Beretti, a Quincy transfer, and
Kaci Johnson, a transfer from Kirkwood Community College. Other new additions include Memphis transfer and O'Fallon, Missouri native
Mandy Lawson, along with first year players
Valyn Donahoo and
Lauren Ortwerth.
Preseason Poll
Lindenwood was predicted to finish fifth in this season's OVC Preseason Poll, which was released by the conference last week. Morehead State was voted preseason favorite, coming in atop the poll with nine first-place votes and a total of 116 points. The Eagles were followed by Southeast Missouri in second, Southern Indiana in third, and defending champ Eastern Illinois in fourth, who each received three first-place votes. After the Lions was SIUE in sixth and UT Martin in seventh, with Western Illinois and Tennessee State rounding out the poll in eighth and ninth, respectively.
Scouting Report
- UIC: The Flames were picked to finish tied for fourth in this season's Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll after finishing the 2025 campaign with a 17-7 overall record. Key returners include Mihaela Harizanova, who ranked 8th in the MVC with 5.93 assists per set last season, and Gabi Peter, who averaged 1.86 kills per set on a .209 attack percentage a year ago.
- Buffalo: The Bulls finished last season with an overall record of 9-18 with a 3-6 mark in nonconference play. They bring back 2025 blocks leader Tehya Shaw, assists leader and Jefferson City native Maddie Mitchell, and Manoela Forlin, who finished second on the team in kills last season (345).
- Saint Louis: SLU posted an overall record of 13-16 last season but went 8-3 against nonconference competition. The Billikens return 2025 scoring leader Ellie Rink, who was named to the A-10 All-Rookie Team after pacing the squad in points (389), points per set (3.74), and kills (347), and kills per set (3.34).
Next Up
Lindenwood heads to Dekalb next weekend to take part in the NIU Invitational. The Lions will face Portland State at 2:30 p.m. on Friday September 4th before clashing with Murray State and NIU on Saturday.
