Lindenwood, which was already without its starting libero, struggled after another specialist, setter Lisa Clark, left the match with an injury midway through the third game.

 

After losing games three and four, though, the Lady Lions came out quickly in game five. The team scored 12 of the first 15 points and eventually won the deciding game by seven points.

 

Lindenwood hit .320 in that fifth game, led by Erika Kliokmanaite who recorded four kills in her first four attempts of the game. Cara Hanevik had two kills in the final game and teamed up with Annie Grohmann for two blocks.

 

For the match, Kliokmanaite had a team-high 27 kills, followed by Krista Yoder with 16 and Sarah Gildehaus with 14. Clark had 31 assists before leaving the contest, and Brittany Tate finished with 29. Kelsey Brummer had four aces, one more than teammate Tate.

 

Defensively, Grohmann had five blocks and Hanevik finished with three. Monika Pfeiffer led the team with 26 digs, Kliokmanaite had 25, Gildehaus added 18 and Tate had 13.

 

Lindenwood, which is now 36-6 on the year, will host Illinois-Springfield in a first-round match of the NAIA Region V Tournament next Tuesday at 7 p.m.