The Lindenwood Lions women’s volleyball team celebrates winning its OVC Tournament first round match, Monday night, over Tennessee Tech. (Photo courtesy: Lindenwood Athletics)
| OVC Tournament | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #6 Tennessee Tech (13-17) | 25 | 19 | 24 | 25 | 10 | (2) |
| #3 Lindenwood (16-14) | 20 | 25 | 26 | 23 | 15 | (3) |
Jason Barnes
Staff Writer
CHARLESTON, IL — The Lindenwood University women’s volleyball team pulled out a thrilling three sets to two victory, Monday night, over Tennessee Tech in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at Eastern Illinois’ Lantz Arena.
No. 3 seeded Lindenwood was able to outlast No. 6 seeded Tennessee Tech and win by scores of 20-25, 25-19, 26-24, 23-25, 15-10, and will now will play No. 2 seed Southeast Missouri State in the tournament semifinals on Tuesday. This marks the second year in a row the Lions have advanced to the OVC tourney semifinals.
“I thought we came out focused and determined but we were not having fun like we usually do,” Lindenwood head coach Will Condon said. “Once we settled down we were able to consistently score points and get enough from everyone on and off the court.”
Addy McAleer led the Lions in kills and hitting percentage punching down 15 at the net while hitting .268. She was one of four Lions to have double digit kills in the win over the Golden Eagles. As a team, the Lions hit .199 in part to setter Allie Otten who had 47 assists.
“I thought Allie did a great job of spreading the ball around and keeping Tech’s block guessing,” Condon said. “We had about as solid a passing night as you can have against a team that has served us tough.”
The Golden Eagles took the first set on Monday evening with a score of 20-25. Lindenwood jumped out to a 4-0 lead early on. The Lions had a heavy dose of blocks in the first picking up four from Anna Kraemer and Ashley Geluck. LU’s offense hit only .156 with 10 kills while TTU had 17 kills on a .364 hitting percentage.
“Tennessee Tech came into the tournament hot and better than when we played them earlier in the season,” Condon said. “We knew it was going to be a tough one and they lived up to that challenge.”
Lindenwood came firing back in the second set with a 25-19 win to tie the match. Rebecca Janke was key in the second with five kills and three blocks. The Lions controlled most of the set pulling away late with a Janke service ace to go up 20-14. LU hit .343 in the second with 17 kills while holding the Golden Eagles to nine kills.
The third set belonged to the Lions as they took a 2-1 lead with a 26-24 win. Nyah Wilson had four kills for the Lions despite the team hitting .091 percent. After being down 13-18 late in the third, LU went on a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the set at 19-18. Lexi Menne had two service aces in the set while Allie Otten added two kills and nine assists.
Tennessee Tech battled back in the fourth set after being down 20-16 in the brink of elimination. The Golden Eagles’ defense held the Lions to just a .158 hitting percentage in the set. LU also had three of their 14 service errors in the fourth.
Lindenwood came out hot in the fifth and final set going up 4-0 before taking the win by a score of 15-10. The Lions’ offense had eight kills on 17 attacks while hitting .353. Kraemer had three of her 14 kills in the fifth set to help power Lindenwood to the win.
“We need to give a lot of credit to Faith Atkins,” Condon said. “She ran our bench and kept the team focused. Overall, I am proud of this team’s ability to battle and find ways to win. We really have come a long way these last few weeks as a team on and off the court and it is showing.”
First serve for Tuesday’s semifinal match is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Lindenwood sports information contributed to this story.
2023 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals – Monday, November 20 – Charleston, Ill. (Lantz Arena)
Match 1 – No. 5 Southern Indiana 3 vs. No. 4 Morehead State 0
Match 2 – No. 1 Eastern Illinois 3 vs. No. 8 Arkansas-Little Rock 0
Match 3 – No. 2 SEMO 3 vs. No. 7 Western Illinois 0
Match 4 – No. 3 Lindenwood 3 vs. No. 6 Tennessee Tech 2
Semifinals – Wednesday, November 21 – Charleston, Ill. (Lantz Arena)
Semifinal #1 – No. 5 Southern Indiana vs. No. 1 Eastern Illinois — 3 pm (ESPN+)
Semifinal #2 – No. 3 Lindenwood vs. No. 2 SEMO — 6 pm (ESPN+)
Championship Game – Thursday, November 22 – Charleston, Ill. (Lantz Arena)
OVC Championship Game – Semifinal winners — 6 pm (ESPN+)