Lindenwood Takes Over First Place With Win Over Tennessee Tech

ST. CHARLES, MO — The Lindenwood University women’s volleyball team took over first place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings following a three sets to none victory, Thursday night at Hyland Arena over Tennessee Tech.

The Lions won the three matches 25-19, 25-18, 25-23.

Lindenwood is now 11-7 on the season and 5-1 in the OVC. The defeat was Tennessee Tech’s first conference loss. The Eagles, who were listed in the “others receiving votes” category in this week’s AVCA national top 25 poll, are 4-1 in league play and 15-2 overall.

“Tech is a very solid team with a lot of weapons,” Lindenwood head coach Will Condon said. “They score a lot of points and do a great job of putting you in tough situations.

“I thought the team did a great job of preparing and that made it possible for us to make some amazing plays in big moments. We did a great job of keeping it a team effort. There were a lot of big hustle plays where we extended rallies and then finished.”

Outside hitter Autumn Bax led Lindenwood’s offense with a team-high 17 kills and career-best .593 hitting percentage. The freshman from Jefferson City has totaled double-digit kills in each of her last four matches and also in eight of her last nine.

Teammate Nyah Wilson had 12 kills and contributed on defense with 11 digs. Setter Allie Otten contributed in nearly every way. The grad student setter from St. Peters had 41 assists to go along with four kills, two blocks, and 11 digs.

Lindenwood’s Autumn Bax has been one of the top freshman volleyball players in the country this season. (Photo courtesy: Thomas Grove - STLBigTimeSports.com)

The first set saw the Lions jump out to an 11-1 run with a huge crowd as the women’s volleyball team was hosting their National Mental Health Day match.

Tennessee Tech crawled back into it, but Lindenwood took the first 25-19 after hitting .341 with 16 kills. Bax led the way with five kills while Otten added 12 assists.

Tennessee Tech kept it tight for most of the second set which saw five ties. After a Lindenwood timeout at the 17-17 mark, LU went on a 8-1 run to close out the second set. Bax and Wilson combined for 11 kills in the set. TTU hit only .029 in the second with seven attack errors.

Thursday’s sweep came to a close in the third after Lindenwood had 19 kills while hitting .275 en route to a 25-23 set victory. Bax and Otten put the final touch on the match, with Otten setting up a perfect pass for Bax to smash into the court and clinch the match.

Lindenwood’s Allie Otten leads the Ohio Valley Conference with 665 assists this season. (Photo: Thomas Grove - STLBigTimeSports.com)

Lindenwood and Tennessee Tech will meet again on Friday to close out their series. First serve at Hyland Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m.

2024 Lindenwood Lions Women's Volleyball Schedule
Aug. 30 vs. Central Michigan -- L 2-3 (0-1)
Aug. 30 vs. Bellarmine -- W 3-1 (1-1)
Aug. 31 vs. Illinois State -- W 3-2 (2-1)
Sept. 6 vs. Florida Gulf Coast -- L 2-3 (2-2)
Sept. 6 vs. Northeastern -- L 0-3 (2-3)
Sept. 7 vs. Dartmouth -- L 1-3 (2-4)
Sept. 13 vs. Southern Illinois -- W 3-2 (3-4)
Sept. 14 vs. Austin Peay -- W 3-0 (4-4)
Sept. 15 at Missouri -- L 1-3 (4-5)
Sept. 20 at Kansas City -- W 3-0 (5-5)
Sept. 20 vs. Bradley -- L 1-3 (5-6)
Sept. 21 vs. Montana -- W 3-1 (6-6)
Sept. 27 vs. Eastern Illinois* -- W 3-0 (7-6)
Sept. 28 vs. Eastern Illinois* -- W 3-0 (8-6)
Oct. 1 at Western Illinois* -- W 3-2 (9-6)
Oct. 4 at SIUE* -- 5 pm -- L 3-1 (9-7)
Oct. 5 at SIUE* -- 3 pm -- W 3-2 (10-7)
Oct. 10 vs. Tennessee Tech* -- W 3-0 (11-7)
Oct. 11 vs. Tennessee Tech* -- 5 pm
Oct. 18 at UT Martin* -- 6 pm
Oct. 19 at UT Martin* -- 2 pm
Oct. 24 vs. Tennessee State* -- 6 pm
Oct. 25 vs. Tennessee State* -- 6 pm
Oct. 31 at Morehead State* -- 4 pm
Nov. 1 at Morehead State* -- 11 am
Nov. 5 vs. Western Illinois* -- 6 pm
Nov. 14 vs. SEMO* -- 6 pm
Nov. 15 vs. SEMO* -- 6 pm
Nov. 19 at Little Rock* -- 6 pm
Nov. 20 at Little Rock* -- 6 pm
Nov. 24 at Ohio Valley Conference Tournament -- TBD
* - denotes Ohio Valley Conference game