NICK FEAKES | Reporter

The women’s volleyball team (15-11) lost to No. 16 Central Missouri (20-5) on Tuesday night (25-23, 25-14, 25-14) in Warrensburg, Missouri.

The Lions hitting percentage was .110, which is below their season average of .214.

Lindenwood was boosted by the return of middle hitter Alex Bogusz. Bogusz was sidelined the last month with an ankle injury. The Illinois native had four kills in 12 attempts during her comeback game.

Senior Emily Wylie recorded the most kills for the Lions on Tuesday night with seven.

The Lions’ last three losses have come at the hands of ranked opponents.

The Lions next face Missouri Western (16-9) in St. Joseph, Missouri. A win against Missouri Western would further enhance the Lions’ chances of making their first MIAA tournament.

The Lions currently sit seventh in conference standings with a 6-6 record. A win on Wednesday could help propel the Lions above Washburn into sixth place.

Senior Megan Hellwege is optimistic about the Lions’ chances.

“We are excited for this weekend,” Hellwege said. “We want to come out strong from the start and really cut down on our unforced errors. If we stick to the game plan, I think we put ourselves in a good position. After watching film from the previous time we played them, we left a lot of points out there, and I think if we can convert a couple of those and execute, it’s a different game. We really just want to play one point at a time and as hard as we can.”