The ninth-ranked Lindenwood women’s volleyball team opened up its NAIA Championship Pool Play with a 19-25, 25-20, 30-28, 25-19 victory over No. 19 Vanguard (Calif.).

The Lady Lions had 18 blocks in the victory, which helped lead to 35 hitting errors for Vanguard. The California Lions only hit .137 for the match, compared to .179 for Lindenwood.

The match had two turning points, both of which went to Lindenwood. After losing game one, Lindenwood trailed 12-6 in the second game. It went on a 17-4 run at that point to get back into the match. In that run, Lindenwood had nine kills and four blocks, and Vanguard helped with four unforced errors.

The second turning point came at the end of set three when there were six set points. Lindenwood killed three Vanguard chances before finally converting on its third opportunity with a kill by Ellen Fandry.

In the final set, Lindenwood went on several mini-runs to take a 19-12 lead. Vanguard got back within three at 19-16, but Lindenwood responded by taking five of the next six points to put the match out of reach.

Lindenwood’s Krista Yoder had 10 blocks, Annie Grohmann had eight and Victoria Krause assisted on six. The team also recorded 75 digs on defense, led by Alyssa Showers with 20. Others in double-figures were Lisa Clark with 18, and Fandry and Monika Pfeiffer with 13 apiece.

Offensively, Fandry led the team with 16 kills and Yoder had 13. Jamie Meurer had eight kills and no errors in 24 attempts. Clark finished with 42 assists.

Lindenwood will be in action again on Wednesday with its second pool play match against No. 22 Doane (Neb.).

Story courtesy of Lindenwood athletics.