Lakeland and Carthage meet in both teams' season opener for the second straight season, and the Firebirds won last year's meeting in Kenosha in three sets 25-15, 25-22, 25-16. Carthage has been in control of the series in recent years, winning the last nine meetings. The Muskies' last win over Carthage came Sept. 25, 2003, a 3-0 sweep on the road in Kenosha. The last meeting at Lakeland came Sept. 30, 2004, when the then-Lady Reds won in four sets.

About Lakeland: The Muskies come in with plenty to prove this year after a rare down year in 2021. Lakeland finished 5-19 overall and came in 4-9 in the Northern Ahletics Collegiate Conference. The Muskies' 10th-place finish in conference was their first time finishing outside the top five in ten years, and first losing record in the NACC since 2010.

Lakeland fielded an exceptionally young team last year with its top seven hitters freshmen and sophomores and just two players in the regular rotation who were juniors or seniors. Libero Sydney Pingitore graduated, but the top five hitters return including Susana Stevens, an honorable mention all-conference pick as a freshman. Head coach Ryan Schopf is also back for his ninth season and has won 117 matches, second-most all-time in program history behind only Chad Schreiber (319 wins from 1995-2011).

About Carthage: The Firebirds finished 20-13 last year, their 21st consecutive winning season under veteran coach Leanne Ulmer, who has won 572 matches in her 21 years as head coach. Carthage finished 6-2 to tie for second in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin but lost four of its last five matches to close the season.

The Firebirds received votes in the AVCA NCAA Division III Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll but have to replace Haley Horner, an honorable mention All-American last season. Molly Skoda and Liv Carel return after combining for 547 kills last year, and middle blocker Leena Ajibola paced the team with 104 blocks.

Casting a wide net: The Muskies enter this year with a huge roster of 36 players, and the area represented by the group also covers a lot of ground. Lakeland features players from nine different states plus Puerto Rico. Wisconsin still leads the way with 16 members of the team. Others include: Illinois (6), Texas (5), Minnesota (2), New Mexico (2), Florida (1), Michigan (1), Utah (1), Wyoming (1) and Puerto Rico (1).