After two convincing wins in exhibition matches over Boise State University on March 6th and March 8th that extended their record to 12-5 overall (9-5 in varsity matches), the #7 ranked NAIA men's volleyball team in the country, Johnson & Wales University (Denver, CO) hosted #5 ranked Lindenwood University (St. Louis, MO) for their final two conference matches of the regular season. Both teams came into the weekend tied for 2nd place in the MAMVIC-West Conference.

In the weekend opener on March 14th, which was played at the Colorado Convention Center during the Colorado Crossroads Tournament, several hundred fans were treated to a tense match. Johnson & Wales overcame a slow start to Game 1 to win the opening game 30-27. Lindenwood's block (statistically ranked #1 in the NAIA) led them to wins in Games 2 and 3, 30-26 and 30-28. JWU fought back to win game 4 31-29, before falling 13-15 in the 5th and deciding game. With just 3 points separating the teams over the span of 5 games, this was unquestionably Johnson & Wales' most closely contested match of the season. On the night, JWU was led by a match high 26 kills from junior outside hitter Curtis Oliver (Santa Barbara, CA) who did so while hitting .340. Senior setters Chance and Cody Dunston (Aurora, CO) each contributed 31 assists. Defensively, the Wildcats were led by senior middle blocker Ty Schraufnagel's (Parker, CO) 6 blocks and by junior libero Hapaki Kaululaau's (Laie, HI) match high 23 digs. For his efforts this past weekend, Kaululaau was named the NAIA co-libero of the week. This is the 2nd time this season that Kaululaau has won this award.

The rematch between these two teams took place the following day on March 15th, at Johnson & Wales' Senior Day, which was the final home match for seniors Chance Dunston, Cody Dunston, Nathan LaHanes, and Ty Schraufnagel. The Wildcats again took Game 1, this time by a score of 33-31, but Lindenwood bounced back to take the next 3 games, winning the match 3-1 (31-33, 30-20, 30-27, 30-27), behind the stellar offensive play of senior Prince Wilson who put down 22 kills while hitting .500. Johnson & Wales was led on the day by setter/opposite Cody Dunston who put down 13 kills, hit .476, dished out 29 assists, and dug 8 balls. Schraufnagel also put up another solid night at the net by collecting 12 kills, hitting at a .364 clip and amassing 3 blocks. Defensively, junior libero Brad Larsen (Costa Mesa, CA) came up big with a match high 12 digs.

With the losses, Johnson & Wales falls to 12-7 overall (9-7 in varsity matches) and will finish in 3rd place in the MAMVIC-West Conference. JWU and Lindenwood will face off again in three weeks in the first round of the conference tournament, as Lindenwood has now secured 2nd place in the conference standings. Next up for JWU is a trip to Lake Wales, FL where they will take part in a tournament at #9 ranked Warner Southern College.