The Tritons and Lions will play the first of two meetings Friday night in St. Louis. (Photo courtesy: Lindenwood Athletics)
GLVC Women’s Volleyball Game of the Week
Matchup – Lindenwood (13-7, 6-3) at UMSL (16-6, 9-2)
Date/Time – Friday, October 29 – 7 pm
Location – Mark Twain Building – UMSL campus – St. Louis, MO
Broadcast – GLVC Sports Network
Live Stats – Sidearm Stats
by Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
One of the biggest women’s college volleyball matches of the weekend, and perhaps the entire season, will be played Friday night in St. Louis, when the University of Missouri-St. Louis team will host its crosstown rivals from Lindenwood University.
UMSL and Lindenwood are in first and second place, respectively, in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Central Division, with the Tritons owning a 9-2 conference record and the Lions just a game behind in the loss column at 6-3.
If UMSL could win Friday’s showdown, it would give itself a firm hold on the division lead and might even be able to put the race out of reach, with a two-game lead and a tiebreaker over Lindenwood by winning head-to-head.
To catch up, Lindenwood would not only have to win the rematch between the clubs on November 9, it would also need to UMSL to lose another match in a season where it hasn’t lost very often.
Lindenwood is also playing to improve its postseason chances, where only the three division winners are guaranteed a spot in the GLVC Tournament.
If the tournament began today, the Lions would be in. But a loss on Friday, could potential knock them from fifth to all the way on the outside looking in. So Friday’s match is a big one for both clubs.
Players to Watch: UMSL is led by 2020 GLVC Player of the Year and 2021 National Player of the Year candidate, Charlotte Richards. The 6-foot, senior outside hitter from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will come into Friday’s match leading the nation in kills with 381 on the season.
In the GLVC alone, only one other player has as many as 300 kills this season. Richards dominates her side of the net, evidenced by her posting double digits in kills in all but one match this season.
When the Tritons aren’t looking to set up Richards, they go to outside hitters Karlyn Hannewald and Olivia Klank, and middle blockers Maya Elliott and Paige Yoder.
Lindenwood is led by its two middle blockers Mackenzi Sifuentes and Rebecca Janke, who rank among the top three in hitting percentage in the GLVC. Sifuentes is the league leader at .402, while Janke is just behind in third at .367.
Janke is also Lindenwood’s overall kills leader with 175. Another weapon the Lions rely on is Sifuentes’ serve, where she ranks third in the conference with 34 service aces.
Up Next: Lindenwood will play again on Saturday, with a road match at Truman State, before returning home to Hyland Arena, for a four-match homestand against Maryville (November 2), Illinois-Springfield (November 5), Southern Indiana (November 6), and the rematch against UMSL on November 9.
UMSL, on the other hand, will be off on Saturday, before returning to action next week to play the final three contests in its own four-match homestand. The Tritons will play Quincy (November 2), Indianapolis (November 5), and GLVC East Division leader Lewis (November 6).