LC Mens' Volleyball
Lincoln Goes 1-3 at Judson Invite
Matos Named to All-Tournament Team

[February 06, 2019] 

The Lincoln College Men’s Volleyball team recently competed in the Judson University “Early Bird” Classic. The invitational event featured ten teams from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) with each team competing in four matches.

Lincoln started day one of the event with a three set loss to Lawrence Technical University (MI). LC looked strong in set one, but let a late lead slip away and dropped it 26-24. The Lynx were unable to regroup from the setback and trailed most of the way through the next two sets, losing them by identical scores of 25-19, 25-19.

Things did not get any easier for Lincoln in their next match as they faced off against Aquinas College (MI). AC came into the match undefeated and ranked #8 in the latest NAIA National Poll. Lincoln was able to raise their level of play to keep up with Aquinas’ high-powered offense, but was unable to take a set from them and lost the match 25-18, 25-19, 25-20.

Despite taking two losses, LC Head Coach Mark Tippett saw positive signs in the results from the first day of play. “We faced two very strong teams today and got to see just how consistently we need to play in order to compete and win at this level,” said Tippett. “We stood up to the pressure very well, and the difference between our level of play and that needed to win against the teams we faced was not very large,” he added.

On the second day of competition, Lincoln was first matched up against Sienna Heights University (MI) and got off to a good start by pushing through to win the first set 26-24. In set two, LC held the lead most of the way, but a late run of passing and hitting errors let SHU back in the set and helped them pull off a come-from-behind 25-23 win. The disappointment from the outcome of set two carried over into set three for the Lynx as they trailed most of the way to a 25-17 loss. In set four, Lincoln again rallied and stayed right with Sienna but came up just short and had to settle for a 25-23 loss that ended the match.

“We certainly played well enough to win against Sienna Heights,” said Tippett. “We just didn’t come up with the stops we needed at the right time to earn it. However, our level of play was high throughout, and I think it gave everyone a confidence boost despite the loss.”

The team would need that boost in order to pull out a win in their final match against the host school, Judson University. Judson came in fired up to play in front of their home crowd and pulled away late in set one to take it 25-21. The Lynx were able to regroup and dominated play in set two to win it 25-17 and even the match. LC looked ready to take off again in set three, but another late run of strong play by the Eagles forced extra points in the set which Judson eventually won 29-27.

In set four, Lincoln looked to be weary from the long weekend of competition and fell behind 19-15, but found the energy to go on a 7-to-3 run of points to tie the score at 22-22. After a Judson timeout, back-to-back kills by sophomore left side hitter Ramon Matos (Chicago) gave LC their first set-point opportunity. However, a service error and an attack error by Lincoln allowed Judson to tie the score at 24-24. It was then the Eagles turn to commit a service error to give LC another chance to end the set. On the next volley, another kill by Ramon Matos gave Lincoln the 26-24 win they needed to force a deciding set to fifteen.

In that final set, Matos continued to dominate at the net, accounting for eight kills in the set including a cross-court smash for the final point of the game that gave Lincoln a thrilling 15-13 win to end the match.

“I could not be more proud of the effort our guys gave this weekend, especially in the final match against Judson,” said Coach Tippett. “Facing tough competition all weekend made us raise our level of play and resulted in us getting better and better as the event went on. Even though we only came away with one win, I saw a great deal of growth in our team and felt this was a very productive weekend.”

Lincoln was led in kills at this event by left side hitter Ramon Matos who finished with a total of 48. Matos was also named to the All-Tournament team. Setters Nick Washington (St. Louis) and Bryan Orellana (Chicago) accounted for a total of 133 set assists and libero Trenton Keilion (Princeville) led the defensive effort for LC with 45 digs in four matches. Right side hitter Charles Carter (Blue Island) was also an offensive star for the Lynx with 39 kills. North Chicago High School grads Greg Scott and Deantrius Coleman were also productive for the Lynx as Scott racked up 23 kills and Coleman 22.

Lincoln (3-3) will play their first home match of the year on Friday when they host Goshen College at 6:00 PM. Prior to the start of the match, the team will recognize their 2018 Club National Championship by unveiling a banner and recognizing the members of the 2018 squad.

[Mark Tippett
Lincoln College
Sports Information]