The Lindenwood men's volleyball team avenged its early-season loss to Quincy on Saturday afternoon in Hyland Arena, sweeping the visiting Hawks to move two matches ahead with four conference tilts remaining in the regular season.
Each set was played close, as there were a total of 22 ties and nine lead changes. The Lions hit .400 as a team in the first frame en route to the 25-22 victory before outlasting the Hawks in the second set by the same score. Both teams hit well in the third set, but Lindenwood registered 14 kills on .478 hitting to complete the sweep with a 25-20 win.
Head coach
Kris Dorn was excited for how his team came out to play after the two-week break, especially after coming back in the second set.
"I'm proud that we overcame a deficit in the second set and closed out in three," Dorn said.
Blake Koppel led the way for the Lions, totaling 12 kills on .333 hitting during the match. This is the fifth consecutive contest in which the senior has tallied double-digit kills, and seventh overall on the season. Koppel also had four digs and one service ace.
Sophomore
Adam Brewster dished out 37 assists on the day, his highest mark in a three-set match this season. The Lee's Summit, Mo. native also recorded six digs.
Ryan Vorderer missed out on another double-digit dig effort, totaling nine in the victory. The junior also had one assist.
Lindenwood was a bigger force around the net, blocking six Quincy attacks.
Sam Schindler had one solo stop and assisted on three others. The freshman hit .545 on the day, recording seven kills and one service ace. Schindler also had a pair of digs.
Connor Hipelius and
Michael Chard each contributed to two blocks in the win. Hipelius hit at a .667 rate with eight kills, while Chard tallied five successful attacks.
Nathan Van Dellen totaled seven kills for the Lions.
"Our middles made solid adjustments with our blocking positioning," Dorn continued. "We were able to run the type of offense that brings us success."
The win is the second in a row for Lindenwood as it improves its record to 4-15 on the season and 3-9 in MIVA play. The Lions move ahead of Fort Wayne and McKendree to sit in sixth place before conference action concludes for the day. Lindenwood will begin a two-match road trip next weekend, heading to Fort Wayne on March 31 and Ball State on April 1. The match against the Mastadons will begin at 6 p.m. central time.