OZARK, Mo. - Lindenwood beach volleyball (1-1, 0-0 OVC) split their first two matches of the season at the Missouri State Tournament hosted in Ozark, Mo. Lindenwood defeated Oklahoma Weslyan (0-1) before dropping a close five set match vs. Louisiana-Monroe (2-0).

"I was really excited for this group as they opened with a strong showing today," said interim head coach Tyler Fenton. "This weekend is a chance to find our groove and I feel that we are moving in a strong direction quickly."

Lindenwood - 5
Oklahoma Wesleyan - 0 

The Lions wasted no time on Friday kick-starting their 2024 season with a 5-0 sweep over OWU. Amber Schade and Elise Llorens got the match started off with a two set win with set scores of 21-13 and 21-9.

Kailee McGee and Jessie Seidel, who was playing in her first career beach match, then took over the four pairing with set scores of 21-10 and 21-10. The three pairing of Abby Jacobs and Annalie McWhorter secured the win after taking down OKU's Natalie Ater and Elizabeth Hope by final scores of 21-15 and 21-11.

The OVC Preseason Top Ten players Maider Soto and Katie Malzahn picked right up where the left off last season with a 21-17 and 21-12 win in the number one pairing. Nyah Wilson and Taylor Gentemann also picked up a 21-8 and 21-13 win at the number two spot.

Lindenwood - 2
Louisiana-Monroe - 3

Lindenwood fought hard in their second match of the season, but fell just short with a 3-2 loss against Louisiana-Monroe. The Warhawks also defeated OVC Preseason favorite UT Martin by a score of 3-2.

Soto and Malzahn won their second pairing of the day after defeating ULM's Kaitlyn Nowak and Madeline Marquez by scores of 21-19 and 21-13. Seidel and McGee also stayed undefeated during the early part of the season with a 22-20/22-20 win in the number four pairing.

Jacobs and McWhorter came just short in the number three spot going into three sets before losing the third and final set by a score of 15-8. 

The Lions will be back in action on Saturday as they face the host school Missouri State and Hendrix College. Matches start for the Lions at 1:00 p.m. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.