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The Antelopes avoided a comeback loss by pulling off a comeback of their own.
No. 15 Grand Canyon rallied from a five-point deficit in the decisive fifth game to defeat Lindenwood 25-16, 25-17, 23-25, 20-25, 15-13 in the Clash of the Nashville Thai Massage Twisted Knot on Saturday at the Off the Block Grow the Game Challenge presented by MotorMVB.
Lindenwood overcame a two-game deficit in this trophy match to force a fifth game. The Lions led 11-6 in the final game before the Antelopes with outside attacker Trevor Weary serving went on a 6-0 run to take the lead. The Antelopes also scored on the final three plays of the match, including middle attacker Alex Shmelev serving an ace to set up the match-point.
Outside attacker Christian Janke in the victory led all players with 20 kills. He also was one of the two Antelopes with double-digit kills as they out-hit the Lions .245 to .121.
Lindenwood opposite Charley Hlavin had a team-high 16 kills, while middle attacker Sam Schindler and outside attacker Diego Negron each had nine kills.
To add to his offensive performance, Negron finished with a match-high five aces.