LC Women's Volleyball Goes 2-1 in Weekend Play

[September 11, 2018] 

The Lincoln College Women’s Volleyball team started the weekend with a tough, four-set loss at home on Friday evening but finished on a high note by sweeping both matches played on Saturday at the Calumet College of St. Joseph Invite.

On Friday, Lincoln hosted Lindenwood-Belleville University (NAIA). The Lady Lynx got off to a strong start in the match by taking set one 25-21 then jumped out to a 13-7 advantage in set two. At that point things started to turn in Lindenwood’s favor. After a pair of 3-0 runs, LBU caught up to LC at 15-15. From there the two teams battled back and forth with Lindewood eventually coming out on top 26-24.

LBU used the momentum from their set two comeback win to take the next two sets by scores of 25-18 and 25-17 to end the match.

The offensive leaders for Lincoln in the match included junior right side hitter Mikayla Seibert (Mackinaw) with a team high 14 kills, junior outside hitter Kaylyn Hoffert (Lincoln) had 12 kills and junior right side Mattie Giese (Highland Park) tallied ten kills in the match. Setters Emma Derry (Augustana) and Morgan Lolling (Lincoln) combined for 41 total set assists and sophomore Megan Gilliam (Waterloo) had a team-high 14 digs.

Lincoln Coach Mark Tippett saw positive signs despite the loss. “We had our full team on the floor for the first time this season and had some success against a very strong opponent,” said Tippett. “We showed we were able to compete with a team that hits well and plays defense with intensity. Lindenwood did a nice job of cutting down on their errors and showed us the kind of consistency it takes to win at this level,” he added.

Lincoln did not have much time to dwell on the Friday evening loss to LBU as they traveled to Whiting, Indiana on Saturday morning for a triangular set of matches hosted by Calumet College of St. Joseph (NAIA).

LC libero Megan Gilliam

In LC’s first match of the day, they faced Moody Bible Institute (NAIA). The Lady Lynx used a balanced offensive attack and consistent serving to win set one 25-20. In set two, Moody responded with a strong defensive effort to keep the score close and force Lincoln to go extra points to win the set 26-24. Set three was all Lady Lynx as they cruised to a 25-15 win to end the match.

In the final match of the day, LC took on the host school and was again able to win the match in three sets. Calumet started off strong at the net, recording two points on blocks, but LC quickly adjusted their approach to find ways to score. Setters Emma Derry and Morgan Lolling kept the Calumet defense guessing and consistently took advantage of mismatches to find open hitters. The Lady Lynx stayed in control throughout the match to win by scores of 25-19, 25-9, 25-22.

“Our effort from start to finish today was strong,” said Coach Tippett. “It was great to see our offense run as smoothly as it did and our defensive intensity was where it needed to be to win longer rallies, which is a really good sign for the future.”

Overall statistical leaders for Lincoln at the event included Kaylyn Hoffett with a team-high 27 kills and Mattie Giese who collected 25 kills. Mikayla Seibert had 14 kills, junior middle hitter Elysa Smith (Metamora) had 9 kills and right side Hannah Cameron (Lincoln) recorded 7 kills in her first varsity action of the season. Emma Derry led the team in set assists with 50 while Morgan Lolling had 23. Libero Megan Gilliam led the team in digs with 22, and senior defensive specialist Melanie Murray (Chicago) had 12 digs.

Lincoln (3-7) will next play at home this Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM against Harris Stowe University.

[Mark Tippett
Lincoln College
Sports Information]