PLYMOUTH, Wis. – The Lakeland University men's volleyball team was able to erase one big deficit to stay alive in the match, but a second late rally came up just short as North Park (Ill.) University closed out a four-set win in both teams' season opener Friday afternoon at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.
North Park finished off a 29-27, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20 win, emerging with the victory in a match that was close throughout all four sets. The Vikings defeated the Muskies for the first time in the brief history between the two teams, evening the series between the teams after Lakeland won the first meeting two years earlier.
The Muskies and Vikings played on even terms most of the way, with 31 ties and 15 lead changes over the four sets. Lakeland even finished with an advantage over the guests in hitting percentage, but 27 service errors and a number of missed opportunities proved costly in the final result.
The Muskies fell into a hole in the match after letting multiple chances get away in a neck-and-neck first set. Neither team led by more than three points at any stage, but it was Lakeland scoring four straight points to get to set point first at 24-23. The Muskies would also hold set point three more times, including a final time at 27-26, but North Park would recover from all four set points and then took advantage on its first set point to win the set.
The Vikings also would make the plays late in a second set where Lakeland recovered from a five-point deficit to trail just 23-22 late. North Park then appeared on its way to a sweep when it built a 13-6 lead in the third set, but the Muskies would rally from there.
Matt Misheck (
Sr.-Oak Forest, Ill.) heated up for five of his team-high 14 kills in the third to give Lakeland an 18-17 lead, though North Park rallied back ahead 21-19 late. The Muskies would close on a 6-2 run, and Misheck and
Colin Kenney (
So.-Shorewood, Wis.) would team up for a block at set point to push the match to a fourth set.
The Vikings again built a seven-point lead early in the fourth set and still led by seven at 15-8, but Lakeland fought back again. Four straight points drew the Muskies within three, and North Park's lead dwindled to two on three occasions, the last time at 18-16 after a kill by
Cameron Ekum (
Sr.-Wales, Wis.). The Vikings would score the next three points, though, and Lakeland would get no closer than three points the rest of the way.
The Muskies finished hitting .083 for the match with 39 kills and 29 errors. Kenney joined Misheck in double figures in kills with ten and Ekum added seven kills plus a team-high 23 assists.
Ben Busalacchi (
So.-Muskego, Wis.) also paced the team with 12 digs.
Erik Bullard posted 13 kills to lead North Park, which hit .056 with 34 kills and 28 errors but was better on service with an 8-5 advantage in aces and with eight less service errors than Lakeland. The Vikings also finished with ten team blocks, including six block assists by Samuel Robinson.
Lakeland next will compete in the Illinois Wesleyan University Invitational in Bloomington, Ill., next Friday and Saturday, opening Friday night against the host school at 5 p.m.
