Dakota Hunter (Jr.-Waukesha, Wis.) and Jarrod Verhamme (Fr.-Long Beach, Calif.) combined for 23 kills to lead the Lakeland University men's volleyball team to its first win of the season with a three-set sweep of Maranatha Baptist University Saturday at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Muskies defeated the Sabercats 25-10, 25-17, 25-15 in the non-conference duel to win their home opener. Lakeland got off to a blazing start and rebounded quickly from a brief lull in the second set to win for the first time in five matches this season.

Hunter and Verhamme both posted efficient hitting performances that paced a good day on the attack for the Muskies. Hunter finished with 13 kills and two errors in 25 attacks (.440 hitting percentage) and Verhamme added 10 kills and two errors in 18 just attempts (.444).

Lakeland hit .281 as a team with 38 kills and just 13 errors in 89 attempts. The Muskies also had extensive runs in all three sets, including the second set when they played from behind for a time.

Lakeland never trailed in winning the first set but then fell behind early in the second and was down 14-8 just past the halfway point. The Muskies scored nine straight points, though, taking advantage of a rash of errors by the Sabercats, and closed the set out with kills by Verhamme and Desmond Williams (Jr.-Riverside, Calif.) as well as a service ace by Cameron Ekum (Fr.-Wales, Wis.), in all outscoring the guests 17-3 to end the set.

Maranatha Baptist (1-4 overall) also hung in early in the third set before the Muskies pulled away. The Muskies led just 8-7 after a kill by MBU's Andrew Carpenter but then scored five straight points on the way to outscoring the Sabercats 17-8 the rest of the way.

Williams also added seven kills, while Addison Mertler (Jr.-Boca Raton, Fla.) set the offense with 31 assists and also added a team-high nine digs. Hunter also finished with seven digs and Trevor Perry (Sr.-Mililani, Hawaii) added five digs.

Carpenter and Derek Wallis both had six kills each to lead Maranatha Baptist, which is in its first year as a varsity program. Joel Depue also had a match-high 14 digs.

The Muskies are home again for their next match Friday when they host nationally ranked Carthage College at 7 p.m.