The series between the Muskies and Eagles has been a tale of two winning streaks, as Lakeland won the first four meetings prior to Benedictine claiming the last six. The two teams met on Feb. 28 last season when Benedictine swept Lakeland 3-0 at the Woltzen Gymnasium. Lakeland's last win over Benedictine was a four-set victory on April 2, 2016, that completed a sweep of the Eagles that season. The teams first met five years ago, when the Muskies scored a 3-0 win on the road in Lisle, Ill., on Feb. 14, 2015.

Lakeland last time out: Lost at #15 MSOE 3-0 last Friday

The Muskies have been idle since last Friday, when they fell to the then-nationally ranked Raiders 25-12, 25-19, 25-18. MSOE was in charge in all areas, hitting .397 as a team, serving  up 10 aces and also adding six blocks at the net. The Muskies were unable to match MSOE's firepower, but did rebound from a poor first set to compete deep into both the second and third sets. Lakeland was the first team to reach 11 in both the second and third sets, but the Raiders gained momentum soon after in both sets. Ben Busalacchi led the Lakeland attack with eight kills while Cameron Ekum and Colin Kenney each added four kills. Ekum also paced the team with 18 assists and six digs and tied Jesse Peters for team honors with two aces.

Benedictine last time out: Defeated Aurora 3-2 Tuesday

The Eagles held off a late rally to defeat Aurora in five sets Tuesday night 25-20, 25-20, 18-25, 23-25, 15-12 and remain unbeaten through six matches. Benedictine had little problem taking the first two sets, but early runs from Aurora forced the match to a deciding fifth set. The Eagles jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the final set that proved too much for Aurora to overcome, with the Spartans getting no closer than 14-12 before the Eagles finished off the victory. Jacob Grygo led the Eagles with 18 kills, Chase Olson finished with seven blocks, Mike LeGros totaled 42 assists and Thomas Samaras recorded 10 digs.

About the Eagles: Benedictine has yet to lose a match this season, starting off with a perfect 6-0 record that has earned them the sixth spot in the latest AVCA Division III Top 15 national rankings. The Eagles were 12-5 and ranked 14th in the nation before COVID-19 ended the season early last year. Benedictine has swept their opponent in three sets in four of their six matches so far, winning the other two against Aurora and #9 Dominican in five sets. 

Ekum hits 1,500, Misheck nearing 500: Cam Ekum now has 1,526 assists in his career after last week's games, making him the third Muskie in program history to reach 1,500 career assists. He also continues to build on his school record for career aces, as his two aces against MSOE now gives him 81 for his career. 

Besides Ekum, Matt Misheck also enters Friday a single kill away from reaching 500 for his career, while he also remains tied with Dakota Hunter (2016-19) for fifth all-time in service aces with 47 after passing Addison Mertler (46 aces from 2016-19) for sixth.