Lady Lynx Get Stung by Bees in Four Sets

[October 20, 2018] 

On Thursday evening, the Lincoln College Women’s Volleyball team suffer their second four-set loss in a row. This time the defeat came at the hands of the visiting St. Ambrose University Bees (NAIA).

Lincoln started off the match looking quite strong behind the consistent serve of setter Emma Derry (Augusta). Derry was able to keep the SAU passers off balance which helped stake LC to a 5-0 lead to start the match. The Lady Lynx were able to maintain a three-to-five-point advantage for most of the rest of the set, however, a late surge by the Bees tied the score at 20-20. The two teams then battled their way to a 24-24 tie which was broken by a kill from LC middle hitter Elysa Smith (Metamora). Smith’s kill was followed by a St. Ambrose hitting error that gave Lincoln a narrow 26-24 set one win.

Unfortunately, the Lady Lynx were not able to carry the momentum of their set one win over to set two. Passing problems and Lincoln hitting errors helped SAU open up an 11-3 lead in the early going. The Bees then cruised to an easy 25-16 win to even the match.

Lincoln responded with a much stronger effort in set three, keeping the score close throughout. LC trailed by no more than three points during the set and was able to narrow the gap to just one at 22-23, but they were unable to win the key points they needed to take the set and eventually fell 25-22.

Set four saw SAU grab an early lead and keep Lincoln from being able to gain any momentum on their way to a 25-18 win which ended the match.

Junior outside hitter Mikayla Seibert (Mackinaw) led Lincoln in kills with 11. Emma Derry and Lincoln native Morgan Lolling shared the setting duties for LC. Derry finished the match with 17 set assists while Lolling recorded 14. Libero Megan Gilliam (Waterloo) and defensive specialist Melanie Murray (Chicago) were busy in the back row for the Lady Lynx. Gilliam led the team with 22 digs and Murray picked up a total of 15.

Kaylyn Hoffert attacking against SAU.

The loss drops Lincoln’s record to 14-12.

LC Coach Mark Tippett saw the outcome as a good learning experience for his team. “We have faced two strong opponents this week which has given us a good gauge of where we are at and where we need to improve,” said Tippett. “We have been very competitive against both teams, which shows we are not far away from being able to win against experienced NAIA teams that can hit and play defense as well as St. Ambrose and Lindenwood-Belleville.”

Next up for LC is a trip on Saturday to Chicago to participate in a triangular set of matches hosted by Roosevelt University. LC will take on the St. Louis College of Pharmacy at noon then face Roosevelt at 5:00 PM.

[Mark Tippett
Lincoln College
Sports Information]