LC Men's Volleyball:  Lynx Win Home Finale in Five Sets

[April 09, 2018] 

On Tuesday evening the Lincoln College Men’s Volleyball team came out on top of a thrilling five-set match against the Lindenwood-Belleville University (NAIA) varsity team. The crowd on hand at the Jack D. Nutt Arena for LC’s final home event of the season was treated to a back-and-forth battle of a match that went well beyond regulation points in the final set.

Lincoln looked to be in command early in the match after taking set one 25-15 and leading most of the way through set two. However, LBU was able to stay in set two and eventually squeak out a 29-27 win to even the match. In set three, LC fell behind early, but battled back to tie the score at 11-11. From there the two teams traded side outs and one-point leads until a late run by Lindenwood lifted them to a 25-22 set three win.

In set four, Lincoln fell behind 10-8, before finding their rhythm on offense and tightening up their defense. The turnaround was sparked by a stuff block for a side out from right side hitter Charles Carter (Blue Island) which sent setter Brian Orellana (Chicago) behind the service line. Orellana would find three different hitters and pick up four set assists during a six-point run that put the Lynx up 15-10. LC would eventually stretch their lead to as many as eight points on their way to a 25-19 set four win.

In the deciding set to fifteen, LC was able to grab the early momentum to go up 9-6 with the ninth point coming on an incredible defensive effort. During that volley, a diving save was made by setter Greg Scott (North Chicago) to stop an LBU kill attempt, but the ball was deflected off court toward the stands. Right side Charles Carter then ran off court and was able to use a soccer-style bicycle kick move to send the ball back toward the net with his foot. An LBU blocker attempted to direct the ball down, but Scott again hit the floor to deny the point. LC libero Joudiel Poveymirow (Puerto Rico) was able to direct Scott’s dig over the net to an open spot on the LBU side to give Lincoln the point.

Lindenwood called time out after the wild volley and was able to regroup to side out and eventually tie the score at 12-12. From there the two teams battled back and forth with each team seeing multiple chances to end the match. Several long rallies were played out during the extra time with an especially amazing point coming with the score tied at 17-17.

During that exchange, LC libero Joudiel Poveymirow made three incredible digs to deny LBU hitters with the third dig coming on a foot save that found its way back over the net. Lindenwood then mishandled the ball to give Lincoln the point.

During the amazingly intense fifth set, Lincoln successfully stopped LBU from scoring on five different match-point opportunities to eventually push the score all the way to 21-21. On the next volley, Lincoln would win the point on a Lindenwood hitting error. Following the play, the LBU hitter who committed the error struck the net pole with his fist in frustration prompting a red card from the up referee. This infraction awarded a point to Lincoln which put the Lynx up 23-21 and ended the incredibly exciting match.

Lincoln Head Coach Mark Tippett was proud of his team’s effort. “We lost to LBU on their court a couple of weeks ago, so I knew we would be motivated going into this one,” he said. “We had several stretches of great defensive play and were able to limit our errors most of the night which is a very positive sign as we head toward the post-season.”

Three Lincoln hitters reached double digits in kills in this match. Freshman Ramon Matos (Chicago) led the way with 14, while senior Deantrius Coleman (North Chicago) and freshman Jonathan Vargas (Puerto Rico) each had 11. Freshman Joudiel Poveymirow led the team in digs with season-high 50 in the match. Poveymirow also led in points served with 11. Junior setters Bryan Orellana and Greg Scott set the table on offense for LC with Orellana picking up 26 set assists and Scott recording 20.

Lincoln is off until the weekend when the team will travel to Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville to participate in the two-day Mid-West Plains Volleyball Conference Championship Tournament. LC enters the event as the #1 ranked team in the nation in the latest National Club Volleyball Federation Division II poll.

[Mark Tippett
Lincoln College
Sports Information]