Lakeland University got off to a flying start that nearly carried it to a two-set lead early, but the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh rallied and went on to a four-set win in a non-conference women's volleyball match Wednesday night at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Muskies won the first set handily before the Titans came back, eventually closing out a 17-25, 25-20, 25-14, 28-26 victory. UW-Oshkosh fought off three set points in the fourth set to close out the match and avenge a loss to Lakeland last year.

It was a tale of two matches for the Muskies (11-12 overall), who dominated the first set and were in control of the second set much of the way too. Lakeland went on a seven-point run early in the first set to take the lead, and would run out to a quick lead in the second set too, building a 5-1 lead early on and still leading 17-14 after a kill by Erin Iwanski (Sr.-St. Francis, Ill.).

Lakeland was especially tough at the net, where Iwanski was nearly a one-player wrecking crew. The senior middle blocker had six kills in the first two sets plus five blocks-including three solo blocks-in the first set alone.

The Titans (18-6 overall) turned the match late in the second set. Trailing by three late in the set, UW-Oshkosh finished the set on an 11-3 run, including service aces by Emma Kiekhofer, Rachel Gardner and finally one by Rebecca Doughty on set point to cap the rally.

Lakeland briefly rallied to score the first four points of the fourth set, but Oshkosh followed with the next six points and rolled from there, leading by as many as 12 points late in the set.

The visitors carried all the momentum into the fourth set, but the Muskies steadied from there. The set included 17 ties and nine lead changes, and Lakeland even was one point away from forcing a fifth set on three occasions. The Titans fought off all three set points, though, and closed it out on their first match point with a kill from middle Shelby Coron.

UW-Oshkosh warmed up after hitting -.079 in the first set, posting hitting percentages of at least .273 in the next three sets and finishing the match at .185 with 49 kills and 24 errors. Lakeland finished hitting .148 with 41 kills and 21 errors.

Abby Baumgartner (Jr.-Kewaunee, Wis.) finished with 11 kills plus a team-high 16 digs, while Shannon Bishop (Sr.-River Grove, Wis.) also added eight kills. Iwanski and Riley Birr (Fr.-Pulaski, Wis.) both added seven kills each and Natalie Borman (Jr.-Harvard, Ill.) also posted five kills in her first varsity start.

Neenah Primas (Jr.-Oostburg, Wis.) finished with 32 assists and Iwanski finished with six blocks total (three solo, three assisted). Allison Byrne (Sr.-Luxemburg, Wis.) also finished with three service aces.

Samantha Jaeke was a handful for the Muskies, finishing with a match-high 17 kills for UW-Oshkosh. Gardner also added 22 digs and both Doughty and Kiekhoffer finished with three service aces each.

Lakeland is back on the road Friday when it travels to face Rockford University in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference match at 7 p.m. in Rockford.