ST. CHARLES, Mo. – McKendree's men's volleyball falls to Lindenwood in a five-set heartbreaker with the final set scores of 25-15, 25-23, 23-25, 22-25, 13-15.
The Bearcats started the match hot, leading for the entirety of set one. Lindenwood kept the score within two for the beginning of the set, but McKendree would go on a five-point run at 7-6, followed by a run of four points to take a commanding nine-point lead. From there, the Lions could not find the momentum to go on any runs of their own to close the gap. The Bearcats ended the first set on back-to-back Lindenwood errors.
Set two came down to the wire. It was a back-and-forth battle, with seven ties before the 10-point mark. Down two, the Lions went on a three-point run to take their first lead at 9-10. McKendree would immediately respond with a run of three points to reclaim the lead, followed by another run of four points, broken up by a Lindenwood kill, which put the Bearcats up five points at 16-11. At 23-19, Lindenwood would make a late push with a run of three points to bring the score within one. McKendree would end the set off back-to-back Lions' errors, going up two sets to none on the match.
With their backs against the wall, Lindenwood responded, coming out to an early lead of five points. After going on a run of three points at 3-6, the Lions extended their lead to six points. McKendree would immediately respond with a three-point run of their own to bring the score within six. After a lot of back-and-forth play, the Bearcats were able to tie the set at 18-18 with a kill from graduate outside hitter
Tyler Tripp. Lindenwood would eventually go on another run of three points to bring the score to 19-22 in a must win-set. McKendree would attempt to close the gap, but was unable to overcome the deficit the Lions created.
In another must-win for Lindenwood, the Lions came out fighting. McKendree was able to take the lead early and held it for the majority of the fourth set. The Bearcats nursed a lead as large as four points, not allowing the Lions to tie the score until 17-17. At 18-18, Lindenwood found themselves in control of the set, taking their first lead at 18-19. A late three-point run would give the Lions set point, but a Lindenwood service error would bring up set-point number two. A Bearcats' service error would give the Lions the set and force a determining fifth set.
The fifth set was a neck-and-neck nail-bitter. Lindenwood and McKendree traded points back-and-forth for the majority of the set, with neither team able to build enough momentum to go on runs. The Lions were able to string a few back-to-back points together, which ended up being what gave them the edge over the Bearcats in the set. Set five consisted of eight ties, with McKendree possessing the lead, until a Lindenwood kill and service ace, back-to-back, at 12-13 would give the Lions the advantage late in the set. Back-to-back Lindenwood kills would close out the set and match.
Offensively, redshirt senior outside hitter
Sam Hoskin led all players with 16 kills and a .308 hitting percentage. Hoskin was followed by senior opposite
Bryce Wetjen with 11, also with a .308 hitting percentage. Junior setter
Nate Flayter collected 42 assists, while also tallying four kills with a .375 hitting percentage.
Defensively, the back court was anchored by graduate libero
Yadiel Diaz and Tripp, both with 6 digs. Senior middle blocker
Rolen Lively followed with five. At the net, Lively and Wetjen held it down, both notching four blocks.
UP NEXT: McKendree will be back at home next weekend with a pair of matches against Queens University of Charlotte. The Bearcats will host Queens on Friday at 6 PM, followed by a 2 PM match on Saturday.
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