The Lindenwood Lions celebrate closing out Saturday’s victory over SIU-Edwardsville. (Photo: Primo Greenway)

NCAA Volleyball1234F
SIUE (6-7, 0-2)22242521(1)
Lindenwood (6-7, 2-0)25262325(3)

DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer

ST. CHARLES, MO — After a slow start in non-conference play, the Lindenwood University women’s volleyball team has gotten off to a fantastic start in Ohio Valley Conference play.

The Lions, who are 6-7 overall on the season, moved to 2-0 in league play, thanks to a 3 sets to 1 victory Saturday afternoon at Hyland Arena over river rival SIU-Edwardsville. The Cougars are also 6-7 on the season, but fell to 0-2 in the OVC.

“We started off a little out of kilter and were not really firing on all cylinders, but we were able to come together as a team and figure out ways to score points,” head coach Will Condon said.

Lindenwood was led by junior outside hitter Addy McAleer, who posted a career-high 23 kills in the win. The Lions hit .224 on the evening with three players with double-digit kills. Middle blocker Rebecca Janke had 11 kills and five blocks, while teammate Nyah Wilson added 10 kills and three blocks.

“Addy showed tonight what hard work can do for you with her performance,” Condon said. “She did a great job of mixing up her shots and scoring in a variety of ways.”

McAleer attacked early and often for the Lions as they took the first set by a score of 25-22. She was the team leader with six kills in the first and was one of six players with at least one kill. Lindenwood also earned three service aces in the set from the big hitting trio.

The Lions and Cougars went back and forth resulting in eight ties and four lead changes. After trailing 19-20 late, Lindenwood stormed back to score the next six of eight points. SIUE was held to a .132 hitting percentage in the first.

SIUE seemed to have the second set locked up throughout, but the Lions eventually came back to take the second 26-24. The Lions trailed 11-18 in the set after Priscilla Jones punched down a service ace. LU was able to chip away point by point before eventually tying the set at 24-24.

Janke would go on to score the final two points of the set to put Lindenwood up 2-0 heading into the third. McAleer added another five kills while Wilson added three. In total, Lindenwood had 15 kills in the second with a .256 hitting percentage. Allie Otten also had six of her assists in the second.

The Cougars claimed their lone set victory in the third by a score of 23-25. SIUE controlled the majority of the set despite the Lions posting 14 kills and a .233 hitting percentage. LU trailed 17-21 and climbed back to 23-24 before McAleer ended the third with an attack error.

Lindenwood never waivered as they eventually closed out the match with a 25-21 fourth set victory. McAleer added another six kills to close out the match.

“We knew we had to serve tough because SIUE is one of the best passing teams in the OVC and we were able to do that for much of the match,” Condon said. “SIUE has a lot of hitters that can hurt you in different ways so they pose a different challenge than a lot of teams. We were able to disrupt them enough to win some close sets. Overall, I think that we learned something powerful tonight and that is a team we have the ability to adapt and find ways to score points even when we are not feeling our best and that is a great lesson for the rest of the season.”

Lindenwood libero Jessie Seidel led the team with 15 digs and added six assists and two kills. Otten led the Lions with 32 assists.

The Lions will be back at home, with matches this week at Hyland Arena. On Thursday and Friday, the team will host Tennessee-Martin.

2023 Lindenwood Lions Women’s Volleyball Schedule

DateTimeAtOpponentLocation
September 28, 2023 (Thursday)6:00 p.m.HomeTennessee-MartinHyland Arena
September 29, 2023 (Friday)5:00 p.m.HomeTennessee-MartinHyland Arena
October 6, 2023 (Friday)6:00 p.m.AwayTennessee TechCookeville, Tenn.
October 7, 2023 (Saturday)2:00 p.m.AwayTennessee TechCookeville, Tenn.
October 13, 2023 (Friday)6:00 p.m.AwayEastern IllinoisCharleston, Ill.
October 14, 2023 (Saturday)2:00 p.m.AwayEastern IllinoisCharleston, Ill.
October 20, 2023 (Friday)6:00 p.m.HomeMorehead StateHyland Arena
October 21, 2023 (Saturday)2:00 p.m.HomeMorehead StateHyland Arena
October 27, 2023 (Friday)6:00 p.m.HomeLittle RockHyland Arena
October 28, 2023 (Saturday)2:00 p.m.HomeLittle RockHyland Arena
November 3, 2023 (Friday)6:00 p.m.AwayTennessee StateNashville, Tenn.
November 4, 2023 (Saturday)2:00 p.m.AwayTennessee StateNashville, Tenn.
November 9, 2023 (Thursday)6:00 p.m.HomeSouthern IndianaHyland Arena
November 10, 2023 (Friday)5:00 p.m.HomeSouthern IndianaHyland Arena
November 15, 2023 (Wednesday)6:00 p.m.AwaySoutheast Missouri StateCape Girardeau, Mo.
November 16, 2023 (Thursday)5:00 p.m.AwaySoutheast Missouri StateCape Girardeau, Mo.