LC Goes 3-1 at Siena Heights Invite, Kielion Named to All-Tournament Team

[March 20, 2019] 

The Lincoln College Men’s Volleyball team resumed their season after a two-week break by participating in the Siena Heights University Invite over the weekend. Six teams were represented at the event.

Lincoln’s first match was against Morningside College (IA). The Lynx appeared to be a little rusty in the opening set which Morningside won 25-20, but bounced back to take set two 25-17. In set three, LC got off to a bad start by going down 0-4 and never fully recovered. They dropped the set 25-17 and continued to play poorly in set four which they lost 25-15.

Lincoln Coach Mark Tippett saw the match result as a combination of having a few days off and facing a strong opponent. “Morningside had a tall, athletic team and they put up a strong block,” said Tippett. “We were not sharp with our passing game, which made it difficult to get our offensive rhythm going.”

LC’s next match was against the host school from Siena Heights. Lincoln went into the contest looking to avenge an early season loss to SHU at the Judson University Invite in early February. The Lynx came out fired up in set one and took an early four-point lead, but Siena was able to recover and eventually tie the score at 7-7. From there the two teams traded side outs and two-point leads all the way up to a 21-21 tie score. An LC serving error handed SHU the lead and they won three of the next four points to win set one 25-22.

The defeat put Lincoln on the defensive and gave Siena Heights the opening they needed to run away with set two to win it 25-17.

Down two-sets-to-none, the Lynx had to win set three to extend the match. In that set, Lincoln returned to form and went up 12-7, but after a SHU timeout, they gave up the lead and eventually trailed 18-13. After a Lincoln timeout, LC rallied again to win the next six points in a row and take a 19-18 lead. An SHU side out tied the score, but LC would regain the momentum quickly and finish the set on another six-point run to win it 25-22. The final kill of the set came from a strong swing down the line by sophomore Jack Lindner (Oak Lawn) who accounted for three of the team’s final six points in the set.

“Jack really came in and sparked us in that third set,” said Coach Tippett. “All of our guys kept believing and working hard to win set three,” he added.

The set three victory reignited Lincoln’s confidence and helped energize the team in set four. The Lynx used strong blocking at the net to disrupt the SHU offense and were aggressive when they had the opportunity to score. LC raced out to an 11-5 lead then cruised to a 25-17 win to force a deciding set to 15.

In the final set, Lincoln took command early and won several long rallies to build an 8-4 advantage. Siena was unable to mount a comeback and the result was a 15-11 LC win in the fifth set to end the match.

“It is a difficult challenge to pull off a win after dropping the first two sets,” said Coach Tippett, “but our guys kept working hard and we seemed to get stronger as the match went on. It was a memorable win for sure.”

Lincoln was able to bring their sharp play to the court on the second day of competition on Saturday. The Lynx controlled the pace of play most of the day to pick up two more victories. LC defeated Cumberland University in four sets (25-16, 15-25, 25-17, 25-17) and rolled over Thomas Moore College in three (25-17, 25-12, 25-14).

Lincoln libero Trenton Kielion (Princeville) was named to the SHU All-Tournament team. Kielion accumulated 64 digs on the weekend with 34 of them coming in the five-set match against Siena Heights. He was consistent in his passing on serve receive for the Lynx as well as being one of the team’s most reliable servers.

Charles Carter and Deantrius Coleman team up for a block

Offensive leaders for Lincoln included Ramon Matos (Chicago) who recorded a team-high 50 kills on the weekend and Blue Island native Charles Carter was close behind Matos with 45 kills. Nick Washington (St. Louis, MO) led the team in set assists with 85 while Brian Orellana (Chicago) had 66 total assists.

LC moves to 13-6 overall this season with three matches at home coming up this week. Lincoln will host Lindenwood-Belleville University at 6:00 PM on Tuesday evening. On Friday, the Lynx will play at home against Viterbo University at 6:30 then take on Goshen College on Saturday at 2:00 PM.

[Mark Tippett
Lincoln College
Sports Information]