Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play is here for the Lakeland College women's volleyball team, and the Muskies will open loop play at home Thursday night when they welcome Marian University at 7 p.m. at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Muskies (3-8 overall) will play their first match since returning from the Emory University Classic in Atlanta, Ga. Lakeland finished 1-3 in the event, defeating Piedmont (Ga.) and losing to teams from Alabama, Georgia and Pennsylvania. That included a three-set loss to Emory, the No.1-ranked team in NCAA Division III, a match in which the Muskies played well in pushing all three sets near the limit. Freshman Hannah Scherer (Chillicothe, Ill.) had 42 kills to lead the attack while Caleigh Galvan (Sr.-New Lenox, Ill.) totaled 87 digs and was named to the all-tournament team.

Marian (1-10 overall) has already played one NACC match, losing at home to Edgewood in three sets Tuesday night. The Sabres have lost five straight matches, including a 0-4 mark at the UW-Oshkosh Pizza Hut Classic last weekend, and earned their lone win so far with a four-set victory at Lawrence in a non-conference match Sept. 9.

Lakeland and Marian are long-time rivals in volleyball dating back to the early years of the Muskies program in the 1970s. Lakeland is going for its 10th straight win in the series, a streak that dates back to 2007 and includes a three-set sweep at home last year.

Live video and live statistics from the match will be available at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/lc/.

For the rest of Thursday night's match notes please click here