ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Lindenwood women's volleyball team (2-1) prevailed 3-2 against Saint Louis (2-1) on Sunday afternoon.
Lauren Ortwerth and
Autumn Bax combined for 36 kills in the match as the Lions hit .307 as a team.
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Lindenwood got off to a hot start, cruising to a 25-17 win in the opening set behind seven kills from
Lauren Ortwerth, who hit .875 in the frame. As a team, the Lions posted 14 kills on a .400 hitting percentage.
Lindenwood carried the momentum into the second set, outscoring Saint Louis 8-4 down the stretch after falling behind by a point to take a 25-22 win. Through the first two frames, the Lions were hitting at a .446 clip as a team.
The Billikens got one back in the third set, using a 6-1 run to take a 22-17 lead before scoring the frame's final three points after Lindenwood cut the lead back to one. The Lions held a 21-18 lead in the fourth set but dropped seven of the next eight points to lose the set.
Lindenwood would fall behind 7-4 in the deciding set but refused to be denied, surging ahead with an 8-2 run before finishing off the match with a 15-12 set win, as
Lauren Ortwerth recorded the winning point with her 18th kill of the afternoon.
Autumn Bax also registered 18 kills in the match while adding three blocks, while
Susanna Beretti went for 15 terminations while also posting three rejections.
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Ashley Geluck recorded a team-leading six blocks in the match while
Kaci Johnson recorded 49 kills and a team-high 18 digs for her second double double of the weekend.
Quotable
"I thought we did a good job early making them uncomfortable with the serve. We were able to turn that into points. Both teams were playing at a high level offensively. Things balanced out in three and four, and then we did a good job of slowing them down in the fifth set. Overall it was a good weekend. I feel like we learned a lot and that's what matters the most for the season." - Lindenwood head coach
Will Condon.
Next Up
Lindenwood travels to Dekalb Illinois 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 facing Murray State and Northern Illinois on Saturday.
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