MILWAUKEE – Shannon Bishop (Jr.-River Grove, Ill.) led a group of three players with double-figure kill totals and Lakeland University took a big step towards hosting a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament match by defeating Wisconsin Lutheran College in four sets on the road Tuesday night.

The Muskies pounced early and bounced back from a third set hiccup to finish with a flourish. Lakeland blitzed the Warriors for a convincing 25-17, 25-13, 23-25, 25-15 win, winning its sixth straight match and for the 11th time in its last 12 matches.

The Muskies (18-7 overall, 7-2 NACC) defeated Wisconsin Lutheran for the second time this season, including a non-conference win early in the season, and also gained some distance on the Warriors in the NACC standings. Lakeland won a battle of teams with matching league marks on a night where four teams entered the evening with two conference losses each.

Bishop finished with 13 kills and both Eliana Arbetman (Sr.-Oak Park, Ill.) and Megan Goeser (So.-Plymouth, Wis.) added 10 kills each as the Muskies were the far better team on the attack, hitting .197 for the match and .294 over the three sets they won. The Warriors (15-8 overall, 6-3 NACC), on the other hand, committed 29 attack errors and never hit better than .139 in a set, finishing at .099 for the match.

Lakeland never trailed in the first two sets, opening a 6-1 lead in the first set and later using another 7-1 run after Wisconsin Lutheran had closed within 14-12. The Muskies then dominated the second set, jumping out to an 8-2 lead and extending it to 17-5.

The Warriors started fast in the third set, building an 11-5 lead and going ahead by as much as eight before Lakeland made a charge late, getting back within 23-22 and 24-23. The Muskies then broke away after a struggle early in the fourth set, finishing on a 10-2 run to close it out that included four kills by Goeser.

Emma Bruder (Sr.-Frankfort, Ill.) finished with a team-high 15 digs, and Bishop and Shelby Welsh (Sr.-Ogallala, Neb.) both added 13 digs each. The Muskies also ripped off 11 service aces, with both Bishop and Allison Byrne (Jr.-Luxemburg, Wis.) both finishing with four aces each.

Neenah Primas (So.-Oostburg, Wis.) finished with 41 assists from the setter position. Lakeland also posted eight team blocks, led by four block assists by Emilie Schartner (Sr.-Sturgeon Bay, Wis.).

Lakeland faces another important NACC match Friday when it hosts Dominican University at 7 p.m. at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium. The Muskies and Stars will both enter with matching 7-2 conference records.