BELLEVILLE, Ill. (Duhawks.com) – The Loras Men's Volleyball team was looking for revenge against Lindenwood-Belleville, only to walk off the court with a five set loss (26-24, 20-25, 18-25, 25-12, 15-12). Freshman Jimmy Combs recorded nine kills on 16 attempts, posting an impressive .375 attacking percentage in the process. Freshman Dylan Ross also recorded 10 kills on 20 attempts, hitting at a .350 clip.

In a rematch of the 2015 season opener, Lindenwood got off to a fast start thanks to a thunderous kill by Ethan Bohnert to put the Lynx up 14-10. Despite the sluggish start, Loras was still within striking distance after a Kyle Zacok kill made the score, 22-19. An attacking error by Lindenwood's Zach Thompson would later tie the set at 24 but an attacking error on Loras' Michael Kreiser gave the Lynx the opening set victory, 26-24.

The Duhawks came back in the second set with more energy and a 10-0 scoring run fueled by the play of freshman TJ Esporas gave Loras a 14-8 lead. The Lynx would close the gap to 19-18 after an ace by Bohnert but Combs slammed home a kill to give the Duhawks the second set, 25-20.

Loras found themselves down quickly in the third set 7-2, after yet another kill by Bohnert. The Duhawks got their rhythm back after an attacking error by Thompson, which gave them a 10-9 lead. That slight advantage would expand to a 25-18 set three victory.

The Duhawks found themselves in a familiar position after three sets, as it was the second match in a row where Loras held a 2-1 set advantage. Unfortunately for Loras, history would repeat itself on Wednesday.

With their backs to the wall, Lindenwood responded with a commanding presence in set four.

The Lynx rode the momentum wave midway through the set to the tune of an 18-10 advantage. By the time Loras could catch their breath, the damage had already been done. Lindenwood converted 10 of their 21 attacks for kills while committing just two errors. Loras, on the other hand, struggled on offense, committing seven errors on 19 attacks and recording just five kills.
Lindenwood close the fourth set on a 17-6 run, earning the 25-12 victory to force a fifth set.

The final stanza went back and forth with Loras holding a one point edge at 5-4. From there, Lindenwood went on a 6-1 run to go up 10-6 and never looked back as they won 15-12.