CHICAGO – The Lakeland University men's volleyball team began a new month on a good note, snapping a three-week spell without a win by sweeping a pair of matches at a triangular hosted by Illinois Institute of Technology Saturday afternoon.

The Muskies opened the day by defeating the host Scarlet Hawks 25-17, 25-20, 25-21 to nab their second Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference win of the season. Lakeland then followed with a 25-11, 25-21, 25-23 win over Maranatha Baptist University in a non-conference tilt to improve to 6-8 overall this year.

The Muskies posted hitting percentages over .200 in both matches and received contributions throughout the lineup. Five different players finished with at least eight kills in a match, and six players posted at least eight digs in a match.

Matt Misheck (So.-Oak Forest, Ill.) finished with nine kills to lead against Illinois Tech, and both Nathan Vanderwaal (Jr.-Rockford, Ill.) and Desmond Williams (Sr.-Riverside, Calif.) added eight kills each. The trio's combined 25 kills came with just eight errors for a collective .298 hitting percentage as Lakeland hit .207 as a team with 32 kills and 14 errors in 87 attacks.

 Cameron Ekum (So.-Mukwonago, Wis.) also led the team with 25 assists and 10 digs, J.T. Levitt (Sr.-Schaumburg, Ill.) added nine digs and Williams posted four blocks (two solo, two assisted).

Even more players made significant contributions in the second match, as Lakeland dominated the first two sets and then rallied from a 20-15 deficit late in the third set to close out Maranatha. Williams posted 12 kills, Vanderwaal also was in double figures with 10 kills and senior Noah Cotterman (Glendale, Ariz.) also added nine kills plus a career-high 12 digs.

Ben Miller (So.-Middleton, Wis.) also totaled eight kills, while Addison Mertler (Sr.-Boca Raton, Fla.) paced the team with 38 assists and also added eight digs and a team-high four assists. Levitt also posted nine digs and Ryan Frankel (Sr.-Palatine, Ill.) and Maui Viola (So.-Schaumburg, Ill.) added eight digs each.

The Muskies are back home Wednesday when they welcome Concordia University Wisconsin for an NACC match at 7 p.m. at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.