PLYMOUTH, Wis. – A two-set lead for the Lakeland University women's volleyball team evaporated into another wrenching defeat as St. Norbert College came all the way back to top the Muskies in five hard-fought sets Friday night at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Green Knights rallied back to win 23-25, 27-29, 25-14, 25-18, 15-9 in a marathon match lasting more than two hours. St. Norbert won the teams' first-ever meeting in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play, while the Muskies dropped yet another competitive match against a quality opponent.

Lakeland fell in five sets for the second time in four days and the third time this season. This time it came against a St. Norbert squad (15-11 overall, 6-2 NACC) that has defeated a trio of Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams this season and ranks among the NACC leaders in its first season in the conference.

The Muskies (3-15 overall, 2-6 NACC) got off to a good start to the match by pulling out two close first sets on the strength of big runs late in both sets.

Lakeland scored five straight points to turn a 17-15 deficit into a 20-17 lead in the first, including a pair of service aces by Sydney Pingitore (Sr.-Kenosha, Wis.). Katie Metzler (So.-Kewaunee, Wis.) added two blocks and a kill the rest of the set and Susana Stevens (Fr.-Las Cruces, N.M.) closed out with a kill on set point.

The Muskies then rallied from 19-13 down in the second set, scoring five straight points to get back within a point and then coming through late. Emily Duchow (Jr.-Potter, Wis.) served an ace and Metzler and Hailey DeGrave (So.-Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) added two kills each in a five-point run, and Lakeland finally pulled it out well past 25 points when Roseily Carrasquillo (Fr.-Yabucoa, Puerto Rico) set the ball over the net for the winning point.

Lakeland never quite captured the magic of the first two sets the rest of the way, though, trailing the Green Knights much of the final three sets. St. Norbert won the third set comfortably and after an early Muskies run in the fourth came back to take over late and send the match to a deciding fifth set.

Lakeland scored the first point of the fifth set on a kill by Stevens but would never lead again. The teams were tied at 1-1 and again at 4-4, but the Green Knights used a three-point run to go ahead 7-4 and held a slight upper hand from there. The Muskies got as close as 8-7 but St. Norbert closed the match scoring seven of the final nine points, with Grace Baumann finishing the match with a service ace.

Lakeland returned Stevens and Metzler from injuries and the two were impactful on the attack, with Stevens finishing with 14 kills and Metzler adding a season-high 11 kills. Metzler also added a career-best eight blocks (three solo, five assisted) and was involved in eight of the Muskies' 11 blocks.

Isabella Westerholm (Fr.-Prior Lake, Minn.) also added nine kills and as a team Lakeland hit .102 with 51 kills and 30 errors. Pingitore totaled 30 digs, Duchow added 25 assists and 13 digs and Carrasquillo added 18 assists. Emily Bird (Jr.-Waterford, Wis.) also added four block assists.

Baumann finished with a match-high 18 kills and added 11 digs for St. Norbert, which hit .196 with 58 kills and 22 errors. Brooke Clement added 12 kills and 16 digs and Emily Terry finished with 10 kills and 15 digs. Liz Maastricht posted a team-high 29 digs, Devon Nardoni finished with 23 assists and 12 digs and Molly Rader posted eight blocks (three solo, five assisted) as the Green Knights finished with 13 blocks as a team.

Lakeland is back on the court and on the road early tomorrow when it travels to face Benedictine University for a noon first serve in Lisle, Ill.