St. Charles, Mo. – A season-opening three-match Missouri S&T women's volleyball winning streak came to an end this Saturday (Aug. 25) evening as the Miners suffered their first loss of the 2018 campaign, 3-1, to Lindenwood in a matchup of undefeated teams at the 2018 Lindenwood Invitational at LU's Hyland Arena.
 
With the 25-19, 25-19, 20-25, 25-16 setback, Missouri S&T presently sports a 3-1 overall record while Lindenwood upped its season's mark to 4-0.  The 3-1 start by the Miners represents its most successful one since the 2015 season.
 
The host Lions won the first two sets by identical 25-19 scores before the Miners bounced back to win set three by a 25-20 margin.  But, S&T was unable to overcome its deficit as Lindenwood sealed the victory with a 25-16 triumph in the fourth frame.
 
For the match, S&T turned in a .039 attack efficiency performance while its counterpart, Lindenwood made good on its hitting attempts at a .145 success rate.  
 
Each team registered 42 kills in the match as two S&T players, senior outside hitter Carlie Combs (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) and senior right-side hitter Ellen Schulz (Wildwood, Mo./Eureka) both totaled a match-leading 13 kills apiece.  Redshirt sophomore setter Sarah McGinnis (Middleton, Wis./Edgewood) paced the Miners' attack with 20 assists and a match-high tying two service aces.
 
Leading all participants in digs was junior defensive specialist Corinne Stulce (St. Charles, Mo./Duchesne) with 20 total while freshman setter Sarah Cavanaugh (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Thunder Ridge) provided 12 digs and Carlie Combs (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) added 11 to post a double-double.  Ellen Schulz (Wildwood, Mo./Eureka) and junior middle hitter Caroline Dykes (Lawrence, Kan./Lawrence) both garnered three block assists in the match.  
 
Lindenwood's top hitter, Kelly Wilson, accumulated 11 kills while Kathryn Finnerty contributed nine kills and racked up eight assisted blocks in the four-set win.  Sara Wagenknecht and Jenna Garrett were the Lions' leaders in digs with 17 and 15, respectively.   

Following the tourney, Carlie Combs (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) and Corinne Stulce (St. Charles, Mo./Duchesne) were selected as S&T's representatives on the 10-member 2018 Lindenwood Invitational All-Tournament Team.
 
Missouri S&T returns to action next weekend, Aug. 31-Sept. 1, at the 11th Annual Nova Southeastern Sharks Volleyball Invitational at Rick Case Arena in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Miners open tournament competition versus Babson (Fla.) next Friday, Aug. 31, in a 2 p.m. (ET) match before taking on host Nova Southeastern in the evening at 7 p.m. (ET).  S&T will play two more contests Saturday, Sept. 1, against Texas A&M International at 12:30 p.m. (ET) and Lynn (Fla.) at 5:30 p.m. (ET).