KENOSHA, Wis. – The Lakeland College men's volleyball team saw its season come to an end with a four-set loss to Milwaukee School of Engineering in the semifinals of the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League Tournament.
The third-seeded Muskies were defeated 25-15, 22-25, 25-21, 25-21 by the second-seeded Raiders in the first semifinal match of the four-team tourney being hosted by Carthage College. Lakeland saw its season end with a 17-9 overall mark, while MSOE advanced to the title game tomorrow against the winner of the second semifinals between top seed Carthage and No. 4 seed Dominican (Ill.) University.
The Muskies couldn't match the Raiders' powerful attack, as MSOE (18-8 overall) hit .293 for the match-the highest percentage by a Lakeland opponent in over months-with 63 kills and 24 errors in 133 attempts. By contrast, Lakeland hit .135 with 32 kills and 18 errors in 104 attempts.
The Muskies rebounded from a tough first set to even the match after two sets. The third set proved to be the turning point in every way, as Lakeland had a real chance to win it but couldn't fight off a late MSOE surge.
Lakeland reached the midway point with a big 13-7 lead and still led by three at 18-15 after a kill by
Matt Stolz (
Jr.-Wauwatosa, Wis.). The Raiders scored the next five points, though, and closed out the set on a 10-3 run to take the lead in the match. The Muskies never recovered, playing from behind the entire fourth set and never getting closer than two after MSOE opened the set with the first three points.
Stolz led Lakeland with 13 kills while
Casey Bolda (
Jr.-Honolulu, Hawaii) and
Tim Robbins (
Jr.-Wheaton, Ill.) added seven kills each.
Addison Mertler (
Fr.-Boca Raton, Fla.) led with 31 assists and Bolda recorded two service aces.
Bolda and
Kyle Krogstad (
Sr.-Chicago, Ill.) tied for the team lead with nine digs while Robbins finished with six blocks (one solo, five assisted). Lakeland finished with nine team blocks, the fifth time in its last seven matches it finished with at least nine blocks after reaching that total just five times in the team's first 18 matches.
The Muskies fell to the Raiders for the second time this season, with both matches ending in four sets. Lakeland was participating in the MCVL Tournament for the first time in the two-year history of the league. The match was also the final one for Krogstad, the lone senior on the team.
