MADISON –
Emily Grzesiak (
Jr.-Spokane, Wash.) hammered a career-high 15 kills with a dominating performance to lead the Lakeland University women's volleyball team to a three-set sweep of Lawrence University Saturday afternoon.
The Muskies survived a close first set to go on and sweep the Vikings 27-25, 25-12, 25-17. Lakeland gained a split of their two matches at the quadrangular hosted by Edgewood College, after dropping a four-set match against St. Norbert College earlier in the day.
The Muskies closed out the regular season with a 21-10 record, tying with the 2013 squad for the most wins in program history since 2009, the team's last trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Grzesiak more than doubled her previous career best match on the attack, and did so in remarkably efficient manner. She posted 15 kills in just 24 attacks with one error, posting a .583 hitting percentage.
Eliana Arbetman (
Sr.-Oak Park, Ill.) also added 12 kills with just two errors in 26 attempts (.385 hitting percentage). The two led Lakeland to a .310 hitting performance that included 47 kills and just 12 errors.
Davan Fleming (
Jr.-Cremona, Alberta, Canada) finished with 36 assists plus 11 digs while
Emma Bruder (
Sr.-Frankfort, Ill.) paced the team with 14 digs. Grzesiak also added three service aces, part of the team's total of nine aces for the match.
The Muskies won their second match after being defeated by St. Norbert in the opener. Lakeland won the first set but couldn't break through again, falling 21-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-23 to the Green Knights.
Shelby Welsh (
Sr.-Ogallala, Neb.) finished with 15 kills and added 17 digs,
Megan Goeser (
So.-Plymouth, Wis.) added 10 kills and five Muskies finished with at least nine kills. Bruder and
Brianna Johnson (
Sr.-Altoona, Wis.) also added career-high dig totals with 29 and 22 digs, respectively.
Emilie Schartner (
Sr.-Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) also added nine kills plus four blocks and
Neenah Primas (
So.-Oostburg, Wis.) tallied 44 assists.
Lakeland now gets ready for the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament, where it will host a first round match Tuesday against fifth-seeded Concordia University Chicago at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium at 7 p.m.