'Dons Host Lindenwood and Travel to No. 16 Ohio State

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Purdue Fort Wayne men's volleyball team is set to play two MIVA matches this weekend, hosting Lindenwood on Friday (Feb. 28) and traveling to No. 16 Ohio State on Saturday (March 1).

Game Day Information
Who: Lindenwood Lions and Ohio State Buckeyes
When: Friday, February 28 - 7 PM | Saturday, March 1 - 4 PM
Where: Arnie Ball Court | Columbus, Ohio
Live Stats: Link (Friday) | Link (Saturday)
Watch: Y ouTube (Friday) | Big10+ (Saturday)
Game Notes: Purdue Fort Wayne | MIVA

Know Your Foe
• Lindenwood is 3-8 after an even 3-3 start, prior to conference play. The Lions also attended the Under Armour Challenge in California, dropping the matches to both No. 17 UC San Diego and No. 15 CSUN. Lindenwood has yet to win a MIVA match, starting conference play 0-5 with losses to No. 12 Lewis, No. 18 McKendree, No. 15 Ohio State (twice) and No. 8 Ball State. The Lions sit second in the MIVA in kills per set this season with an average of 12.78. Former Mastodon Zach Solomon leads Lindenwood in assists per set, ranking fifth in the conference with 9.97.

• Ohio State is 6-7 on the season and completed their non-conference season at 3-5, with all five losses came from ranked opponents: No. 6 BYU twice, No. 11 Stanford, No. 6 USC and No. 3 UCLA. The Buckeyes' lone ranked win was over No. 1 UCLA. Ohio State is 3-2 in MIVA play, dropping matches to Loyola Chicago and McKendree. Shane Wetzel has impressed this far in the season, ranking top-five in four MIVA categories: third in kills per set (3.77), points per set (4.44), services aces per set (0.48) and fifth in hitting percentage (.336).

Series History
• Purdue Fort Wayne leads the series history over Lindenwood, 15-11. The Lions swept the Mastodons in both matches last season.

• Ohio State leads the series history 83-41, adding to their win total earlier this season. Buckeye Shane Wetzel led the match with 13 kills on a .588 percentage.

Locked and Logan
Logan Muir sits second in the MIVA in kills per set (3.89).

Mastodon Starters
Both Casey Lyons and Andrew Mayer have started every match for Purdue Fort Wayne this season.

He Can Do It
JP Candrian earned his first MIVA Player of the Week award, earning Defensive Player of the Week (Jan. 28). Candrian led the Mastodons to a 2-0 week, beating both LIU (Jan. 23) and Lees-McRae (Jan. 25) on the Arnie Ball Court. The freshman averaged 2.67 digs during the stretch, collecting 16 in the five-set victory over LIU. The Florida native added 0.67 blocks per set to his weekly totals.

Last Time Out
Purdue Fort Wayne dropped both matches during their trip to Illinois. No. 7 Loyola Chicago swept the Mastodons on Feb. 20 and No. 13 Lewis won a five set match on Feb. 22. Axel Melendez Watts finished with 17 kills on a .359 percentage against the Flyers.

Coming Up
The 'Dons will host two non-conference opponents, Thomas More (March 7) and Maryville (March 11).

~ Feel the Rumble ~

'Dons Host Lindenwood and Travel to No. 16 Ohio State

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Players Mentioned

JP Candrian

Casey Lyons

Andrew Mayer

Axel Melendez Watts

Logan Muir

Zach Solomon

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics