Middle attacker Owen Walsh made sure the home opener for Lindenwood would be memorable.
Walsh finished with a career-high 14 kills on a team-best .722 attack percentage as Lindenwood upset No. 12 CSUN 23-25, 30-28, 28-26, 25-20 on Friday in St. Charles, Missouri.
The junior from Cincinnati had back-to-back kills to close out the second-game overtime and prevent the Matadors from taking a two-game lead. In addition, Walsh did not commit an attack error until late in the third game and had a kill in the third-game overtime victory to help Lindenwood earn its first non-conference victory against a ranked team since 2024.
Setter Zach Solomon guided the Lindenwood offense to out-hit CSUN .347 to .295, including the team having a match-best .481 attack percentage and one error in the final game.
Walsh was one of four Lions to have double-digit kills against the Matadors.
Outside attacker Caden Whiteside had 13 kills, while outside attacker Brendan Louthain added 12 kills Middle attacker Amir Grant contributed a career-high 11 kills and zero errors on a .647 attack percentage.
Grant also led all players with six blocks highlighted with back-to-back blocks as part of a 5-1 run to erase a CSUN three-point lead late in the third game.
Lindenwood finished the match with seven aces and limited CSUN to a season-low two aces. Both Solomon and Louthain had a match-high three aces en route to ending the Matadors’ three-match winning streak.
CSUN opposite Jalen Phillips led all players with 19 kills on a .385 attack percentage. Middle attacker Joao Favarim also had seven kills and hit a team-best .600.
Lindenwood in the victory overcame committing a season-high 26 service errors – six more errors than the Matadors.