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 The Fighting Illini came into the match ranked #4 in the NCVF's
National rankings.
In set one, the Lynx gave them a tough battle and held a late
21-20 advantage, but U of I toughened up and took the first set
23-25.
In set two, LC jumped out to an early lead and kept the advantage
throughout the set to win it 25-19. Lincoln was unable to keep the
momentum rolling in sets three and four, dropping them by scores of
18-25 and 19-25. The loss puts LC at 4-5 on the season.
 LC Stat totals:
Adam Krzos 3 kills, 2 digs, 2 points
Wes Higgenbotham 6 kills, 5 blocks
Lukasz Kupiec 18 set assists, 7 points, 5 kills
Alex Robles 4 kills, 6 points, 2 blocks
Alec Esparza 16 digs, 10 points
Manny Benitez 8 kills, 3 blocks
Zach DeLoach 3 kills, 2 blocks
Josue Ramirez 5 points
Jorge Pulido 1 points, 3 digs
LC Coach Mark Tippett: "Our team faced a very tough challenge this
evening, and, overall, I was pleased with how they stood up to the
pressure.
"Our players did not back down from one of the top club teams in
the nation and made this a competitive match.
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"The middles from the U of I were strong. They could hit a variety
of shots and blocked well which made it tough for us to get runs of
points going. The bright spots were that we showed that we have what
it takes to score points against them and even win sets, plus our
defense was making them earn it all night. We have a lot of work to
do before we would be ready to take a match from them, but it is
encouraging to know we are not that far away from playing that such
a high level in only our first year as a program."
Lincoln will participate in their first tournament as part of the
Mid-West Plains Volleyball Conference (MWPVC) on Saturday at the
University of Illinois-Springfield.
[Coach Mark Tippett]
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