Marian University Sabres (11-8 overall, 3-3 NACC)
at Lakeland University Muskies (8-10 overall, 3-3 NACC)
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023Â Â 7 p.m.
Woltzen Gymnasium
Lakeland/Marian Match Notes PDF
Two teams tied for position in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference women's volleyball standings meet for an important match Thursday night when Lakeland University hosts Marian University at 7 p.m. in the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.
Broadcast InformationÂ
Live video and live statistics:Â
http://www.lakelandmuskies.com/muskieslive.
Series history:Â Lakeland and Marian are long-time rivals in volleyball dating back to the early years of the Muskies program in the 1970s. Series records are incomplete but Lakeland has dominated the teams' meetings over the last 20 years, winning 30 of the last 32 matchups dating back to 2002. The Muskies are hosting the Sabres for the second straight year after posting a 25-17, 25-22, 25-22 win in their regular season finale last year Oct. 21, 2022. Lakeland has won seven straight over Marian, while the Sabres' last win in the series came back in 2016 in a four-set victory at home in Fond du Lac.
Lakeland last time out: Won at Illinois Tech 3-1 Saturday
The Muskies went on the road and won in Chicago, defeating the Scarlet Hawks 25-18, 25-23, 22-25, 25-13.
Susana Stevens finished with 13 kills,
Kelly Swope added 11 kills plus 17 digs and
Maeve Sullivan posted 24 digs from her libero spot plus two service aces. Lakeland hit .191 as a team with 46 kills and just 15 errors, and with the win the Muskies finally have their first two-match winning streak of the season, after alternating wins and losses for most of the season. Lakeland also improved to 5-5 this season in matches going four or five sets, and won for the first time in a true road match in five tries.
Sullivan's 46 digs over two matches last week have moved her up among the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference leaders in digs this season. The senior enters the night now seventh in the conference in both total digs (280) and digs per set (4.18).
Marian last time out: Won at Dominican 3-0 Saturday
The Sabres dominated on the road with an easy win over the Stars with set scores of 25-16, 25-16 and 25-14. Marian hit .318 with 41 kills and just seven errors. Kaitlyn Merrill delivered 13 kills without an error, Serina Pehowski posted eight kills and three blocks and Anna Tapia finished with 21 assists plus five kills.
Marian is the most improved team in the NACC, coming in at 11-8 overall and 3-3 in conference. The Sabres have already topped last year's overall win total of eight victories in an 8-23 season, and Marian is just one win shy of tying its NACC win total of a year ago. The Sabres share conference wins with Lakeland over MSOE and Dominican, and their three losses include a five-set loss to Concordia Wisconsin and a four-set loss at Aurora.
