Matt Stolz (
Jr.-Wauwatosa, Wis.) set a career high with 22 kills and led the way in a superbly efficient performance by the Lakeland College men's volleyball team in a three-set sweep of Wittenberg (Ohio) University Friday night at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.
The Muskies prevailed 25-22, 25-19, 25-17 for a surprisingly quick win over a team that received votes this week in the most recent AVCA/NCAA Division III Top 15 Coaches' Poll. Lakeland hit a season-best.352 as a team to win their Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League season opener and improve to 8-2 overall, while also pinning first-year program Wittenberg with its first loss in seven matches.
Stolz recorded 22 kills with just two errors in 29 attack attempts, hitting a robust .690 for the night. As a team, Lakeland finished with 45 kills and just 14 errors in 88 attack attempts and also piled up eight service aces.
Stolz,
Casey Bolda (
Jr.-Honolulu, Hawaii) and
Kyle Krogstad (
Sr.-Chicago, Ill.) did most of the damage, combining for 42 of the team's 45 kills. Bolda finished with 12 kills on a .300 attack percentage and also chipped in three service aces, while Krogstad added eight kills in 17 attempts.
The Muskies were challenged most in the first set, as the Tigers rallied from an 18-14 deficit to tie it at 22-22 late. Lakeland finished the match strong, though, as Krostad and Stolz both recorded kills and
Addison Mertler (
Fr.-Boca Raton, Fla.) and
Desmond Williams (
Fr.-Riverside, Calif.) finished the set with a block.
Mertler set the offense with 44 assists, while
Christian Frahm (
Jr.-Palatine, Ill.) led the team with 10 digs. Williams also had three block assists, part of the team's five blocks.
Dylan Kolovitz led Wittenberg with 16 kills, nearly half of the Tigers' 36 kills. The visitors from Springfield, Ohio, hit a solid .256 with 36 kills and 14 errors in 86 attempts, but posted just two service aces. The loss was the first in the history of Wittenberg's varsity program, which is in its first year and had won its first six matches this season.
Lakeland is in action again tomorrow when it hosts a triangular that begins at 10:30 a.m. with an MCVL match against 11th-ranked Mount St. Joseph (Ohio) University inside the Woltzen Gymnasium. The remaining two matches will then shift to the Wehr Center Fieldhouse, with Mount St. Joseph taking on No. 4-ranked UC Santa Cruz at 12:30 p.m. and then Lakeland facing UC Santa Cruz at 2:30 p.m. Live video and stats will be available for the first match at 10:30, and live stats will be offered for the remaining two matches in the afternoon.
