WATERTOWN, Wis. –
Dakota Hunter (
Jr.-Waukesha, Wis.) and
Cameron Ekum (
Fr.-Wales, Wis.) warmed up on the attack with 10 kills each and the Lakeland University men's volleyball team won its third straight match with a three-set sweep of Maranatha Baptist University Tuesday night in a non-conference match.
The Muskies got off to a red-hot start and finished a 25-8, 25-16, 26-24 win for their second victory this season over the Sabercats. Lakeland improved to 7-11 overall on the strength of one of the most efficient hitting performances in the program's five-year varsity history.
The Muskies hit .405 for the match with 41 kills and nine errors in 79 attacks. That marks the second-highest hitting percentage since Lakeland moved men's volleyball to varsity status for the 2014 season, only exceeded by a .508 hitting percentage in its third-ever varsity match back in 2014 against Lancaster Bible (Pa.) College.
Hunter had 10 kills with two errors in 19 attacks for a .421 hitting percentage. Ekum was even more efficient with his 10 kills and two errors in 17 swings (.471 hitting percentage), and he also added 16 assists plus four service aces.
Lakeland never trailed in the first set and only briefly at the start of the second. The Muskies did get a battle in the third from Maranatha Baptist (2-18 overall), which was on the brink of forcing a fourth set with a 23-20 lead late before Lakeland rallied on the strength of three kills by Hunter and a match-ending block by
Trevor Perry (
Sr.-Millilani, Hawaii) and
Noah Cotterman (
Jr.-Glendale, Ariz.).
Desmond Williams (
Jr.-Riverside, Calif.) also totaled seven kills and
Jarrod Verhamme (
Fr.-Long Beach, Calif.) added six kills.
Addison Mertler (
Jr.-Boca Raton, Fla.) posted 18 assists and six digs and Perry led with three blocks.
Derek Wallis posted 11 kills to lead Maranatha, which hit .052 with 23 kills and 19 errors. Matt Wetzel added 14 assists.
Lakeland now gets ready for a trip to California, where it will participate in the Cal-Lu-Fornia Classic hosted by Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. The Muskies will open play on Friday against the University of California at Merced at 6 p.m. Central time.
