Box Score The Lindenwood men's volleyball team survived a wild match on Saturday evening at Hyland Arena and defeated Grand Canyon by a 3-2 score. The Lions swept the two-game series after winning by scores of 25-18, 16-25, 25-27, 26-24, and 19-17.
The match opened with the two teams splitting the first two sets, with each team winning one by a lopsided margin. The Antelopes then grabbed the momentum with a two-point win in set three and jumping out to a 5-1 lead in set four. Lindenwood battled back though and the two teams exchanged the lead three times late in the set. Grand Canyon had match point at 24-23, but
Colin Hackworth kept Lindenwood alive with a kill. The Lions' blockers then recorded two straight blocks to help Lindenwood force a fifth set.
The fifth set was neck-and-neck as it had 13 ties and neither team ever led by more than two points. Grand Canyon scored the first two points and led until Lindenwood took the lead at 12-11. The match had 12 straight sideouts after that and Grand Canyon killed off four match points. Finally, with the Lions leading 18-17,
Zach Bequette served the ball deep and into the corner. A Grand Canyon player let it go but the ball stayed inbounds to give Lindenwood the win.
The Lions finished with a .314 hitting percentage, compared to .291 for Grand Canyon. The Lions had five more team blocks and six more kills in the match, while the Antelopes had four more digs.
Four Lions finished with double-figure kills and points, led by
Colin Hackworth who had 20 kills.
Michael Adams finished with 17 kills,
Kyle Overby had 11, and Bequette had 10. All four of those players hit over .300 for the match, as did
Logan Jarus who entered the contest for the final three sets and had six kills and no errors in 11 attempts.
Tim Schmidt had team-highs of 57 assists and 12 digs, and Hackworth led the team with six blocks.
David Poole was also in double-figures in digs with 10.
Lindenwood is now 8-2 overall and 3-1 in the MIVA. The Lions are 5-0 on their current homestand which continues next week with matches against IPFW and Ball State.
