Kathy Flanagan (
So.-Midlothian, Ill.) cashed in with 12 kills and the Lakeland College women's volleyball team moved one step closer to a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament berth with a sweep of Concordia University Chicago Saturday night at the Woltzen Gymnasium.
The Muskies dominated from the start in a 25-11, 25-13, 25-15 win over the Cougars for their fourth straight NACC win, all coming in the last eight days. Lakeland wrapped up its home schedule with a win and crept closer to the .500 mark, improving to 13-14 overall and 6-3 in conference play.
The Muskies had their best hitting performance of the season, attacking at a sparkling .347 clip with 41 kills and just seven errors in 98 attempts. Flanagan hit .500 for the night with just one error in 22 attempts,
Jenna Ward (
Jr.-Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) added 10 kills and just one error in 27 attempts (.333) and five players hit at least .273 for the night.
Lakeland also finished with 14 service aces, taking advantage of a young and inexperienced lineup for Concordia (5-20 overall, 2-7 NACC), particularly in the final two sets. The Cougar starters did not play after the first set, and the conference's leading hitter Kaylyn Thompson finished with just three kills in one set of action.
Setter
Taylor Levitt (
So.-Schaumburg, Ill.) returned to the team tonight and finished with 33 assists. Ward and
Allison Errthum (
Fr.-Joliet, Ill.) both posted four service aces, and
Caleigh Galvan (
Jr.-New Lenox, Ill.), led the team with 13 digs and added three aces.
Mary Arredia finished with six kills and Hannah Johnson had 13 digs to lead Concordia. The Cougars hit .063 for the match with 19 kills and 13 errors in 95 attacks.
Lakeland is now tied for fourth in the NACC standings with Aurora (Ill.) University with a 6-3 mark, though the Spartans hold the tiebreaker over the Muskies based on a head-to-head win. Lakeland does remain one match ahead of both Marian University and Benedictine (Ill.) University in the standings and has defeated both, and the Muskies could clinch a bid to the tourney with one more conference win in its last two league matches.
Lakeland now takes to the road to face Alverno College on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Milwaukee.
