It was a huge night for the graduate senior, as Rebecca Janke set a Lindenwood record with 26 kills in the match to help Lindenwood to the 3-1 win and a season sweep over Western Illinois.
After missing the past five matches due to injury, Janke returned with a bang setting a Lindenwood record for kills in a match and hitting a very impressive .458 to go along with the 26 kills. Nyah Wilson and Autumn Bax each chipped in, with Bax having 15 kills and Wilson recording 12 digs. The 15 kills from Bax were the most since she had 17 on Oct. 17th. Lindenwood hit .302 as a team, marking the seventh time they have hit over .300 this season. Allie Otten had another great game posting her 18th double-double of the season with 54 assists and 15 digs. Jessie Seidel powered the Lions defense tallying 30 digs, the third time this season she has had 30 or more digs in a match. Addy McAleer had 17 digs of her own, and as a team, the Lions tallied 84 digs, their sixth highest total of the season.
The Lions, after having dropped the past six sets, seemed like it almost might be much of the same as they lost their first set at home since Sep. 13 as the Leathernecks got on the board first, taking the first set 25-23. Lindenwood led 19-14, forcing Western Illinois to call timeout. Lindenwood would grow the lead to 21-17 but failed to close out the set and allowed Western Illinois to take an early 1-0 lead. Wilson and Janke each had four kills in the set but Lindenwood allowed Western Illinois to hit a match-high .326 compared to their .302.
Set two was the tightest of the match seeing the set have 14 ties and seven lead changes. Lindenwood found themselves down 22-21 before Wilson closed out the set for Lindenwood, with two final kills to give Lindenwood the 25-23 set win. Janke was unstoppable, tallying nine kills in the set and hitting .412 in the set. Bax chipped in with four kills of her own as Lindenwood tied the match at 1-1.
Set three was yet again another close set, seeing 13 different ties and five lead changes occur within the set. The set was tied 19-19 before Lindenwood went on a 6-2 run to close out the third set, 25-21, and take a commanding 2-1 lead in the match. Bax and Wilson each had six kills in the set and Janke chipped in with five of her own. Lindenwood held Western Illinois to a .170 hit percentage in the set and the Lions overcame five service errors in the set.
With the Lions firmly in control of the match, the Lions saved their best for last as they closed out the match with a 25-17 fourth set win. Lindenwood hit a match high .415 in the set, and held the Leathernecks to a .200 hit percentage. Janke closed out her career night with eight kills in the final set, as the Leathernecks had no answer for the powerful right-handed swing of Janke. Five other Lions chipped in with two or more kills in the set to total 19 team kills in the set. The win marks the Lions 11th win in the Ohio Valley Conference, and marked a season sweep of the Leathernecks after squaring off early this season in Macomb, Illinois.
Lindenwood gets the weekend off before welcoming Southeast Missouri State to town on Nov. 14 and Nov. 15 for a showdown for first place in the OVC. SEMO currently stands at 10-2 in the OVC, while the Lions are 11-3. It will be must-watch volleyball, as whoever wins the regular season OVC title gets to host the conference tournament on their campus.
