EAU CLAIRE – Continuing its trend of one win and one loss each day in tournament play, the Lakeland University women's volleyball team finished 2-2 at the Sandy Schumacher Memorial Tournament hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, which concluded Saturday afternoon.
The Muskies scored one win on both days of the tourney, including a 25-20, 25-20, 25-20 sweep of Martin Luther (Minn.) College on Friday plus a hard-earned five-set win over Linfield (Ore.) College on Saturday (23-25, 25-11, 26-24, 19-25, 15-11). Lakeland finished 1-1 on a day in tournament play for the fifth time this season.
The Muskies (5-6 overall) also continued another trend of being close but unable to slay teams in or near the national rankings so far this season. Lakeland was swept on Friday by Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) College 25-20, 27-25, 25-23, and then was defeated by the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) 26-24, 25-23, 25-13 on Saturday. St. Thomas entered ranked 18th in the AVCA/NCAA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll while Gustavus received votes this week, and the Muskies dropped to 0-6 in sets decided by two points in matches against teams that have been ranked this season.
Shannon Bishop (
Sr.-River Grove, Ill.) and
Megan Goeser (
Jr.-Plymouth, Wis.) both were named to the all-tournament team for the weekend.
Bishop finished with 49 kills plus 49 digs over four matches, totaling at least 11 kills in all four matches. She also moved to the doorstep of 1,000 kills for her career, finishing the tourney unofficially with 999 kills as a Muskie. Goeser also added 36 kills plus 13 blocks (six solo, seven assisted).
Abby Baumgartner (
Jr.-Kewaunee, Wis.) also notched 38 kills plus 54 digs,
Neenah Primas (
Jr.-Oostburg, Wis.) totaled 134 assists through four matches and
Sydney Pingitore (
So.-Kenosha, Wis.) led the team with 71 digs. Pingitore's total included a career-high 35 digs against Linfield, a total that is tied for the fifth-most in a match in school history.
Allison Byrne (
Sr.-Luxemburg, Wis.) also added 24 digs plus a team-high seven service aces on the weekend.
Lakeland now gets ready for its Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference opener Tuesday when it travels to face Concordia University Wisconsin at 7 p.m. in Mequon.
