NORMAL, Ill. – The Lindenwood women's volleyball team (7-2) overcame a slow start to defeat Illinois State (6-2) by a score of 3-1 in Normal on Saturday, capping off a successful weekend at the Linda Herman Classic. The Lions registered a total of 64 kills in the match compared to just 37 for the Redbirds.
The Lions led 14-12 in set one before a 3-0 run by the Redbirds pushed Illinois State in front at the first media timeout. Lindenwood was unable to regain the lead, eventually dropping the set by a score of 25-21. The Lions registered four more kills than ISU in the frame but were outblocked 7-0.
Lindenwood pounced out to a 4-0 lead in the second set and never looked back, growing their lead to as many as 16 points on their way to evening the match with a 25-12 win. Bax headlined the LU attack with five kills in the frame.
The Lions carried their momentum into set three, jumping out to another early lead and never trailing as they took the frame by a score of 25-20.
Autumn Bax kept the hot hand, growing her kill total to 14 by the end of the set.
Lindenwood trailed 15-13 midway through the fourth frame, but a quick 5-1 run out of the media timeout put the Lions in front and forced the Redbirds to burn a timeout. The attempt to regroup was unsuccessful, as Lindenwood ran away from ISU for another 25-20 win to clinch the match.
Three Lions finished the contest with double digit kills, led by
Autumn Bax with 16 kills (4.00 KPS) on a season-best .367 hitting percentage.
Susanna Beretti (14 kills) and
Ashley Geluck (10 kills) also had strong offensive outings for Lindenwood.
Kaci Johnson put together another fantastic performance, dishing out 46 assists for an average of 11.50 assists per set while tacking on a season-high seven kills and team-leading 16 digs (4.00 DPS).
Mandy Lawson also posted a season-high with 13 digs while
Alayna Rudebeck recorded 11 digs and a pair of service aces.
Quotable
"Both teams started off slow in the first set with a bunch of errors. The effort was there but it was not bouncing our way. We were able to get some traction and go on a few runs in the second set" stated Lindenwood head coach
Will Condon, continuing,"They are a tough team with a lot of size and are always scrappy and lengthening rallies. We were able to stay aggressive and find ways to keep scoring points. Playing on the road is always tough and they had their band going and fans heckling us, but I felt like it only made us play with more determination."
Next Up
Lindenwood concludes their nonconference schedule at the CEFCU Invitational in Peoria next weekend. The Lions will face New Mexico State at 10:00 a.m. and UTRGV at 4:30 p.m. on Friday before the weekend finale against Bradley at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
