PLYMOUTH, Wis. – Senior Night brought out one of the sharpest performances of the year for the Lakeland University women's volleyball team, with a season-best hitting percentage among the highlights in a three-set win over Loras (Iowa) College Friday night at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.
The Muskies wrapped up their regular season with a 25-15, 25-22, 25-23 victory over the Duhawks in a non-conference tilt. Now it's on to the postseason and the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament for Lakeland, which faces fourth-seeded Concordia University Wisconsin Tuesday night in a quarterfinal matchup at 7 p.m. in Mequon.
The Muskies (15-11 overall) honored six seniors before Friday night's match-
Sammi Butler (
Kemmerer, Wyo.),
Katie Metzler (
Kewaunee, Wis.),
Brelynn Scoles (
Kewaskum, Wis.),
Maeve Sullivan (
Chicago, Ill.),
Kelly Swope (
Heyworth, Ill.) and
Isabel Wells (
Niagara, Wis.)-and proceeded to play a clean match with few errors in winning for the ninth time in their last 10 outings.
Lakeland posted a .369 hitting percentage with 47 kills and just nine errors in 103 attacks, and hit at least .353 in all three sets.
Susana Stevens (
Jr.-Las Cruces, N.M.) finished with 12 kills and three errors (.346 hitting percentage), Scoles added 11 kills with just one error (.370) and Metzler and Swope both added eight kills each with just four errors between them.
The Muskies' hot hitting helped them play from the lead almost the entire night against the Duhawks of the Iowa-based American Rivers Conference. Loras (12-16 overall) led just twice in the match, scoring the first point of the night on a service ace by Sara Hoskins and rallying from six points down to take a brief 19-18 lead in the second set, before Lakeland scored six of the next seven points and went on to take the set.
The Duhawks also hung around in the third set, and after trailing by four points early got within 16-15 late. Lakeland scored the next three points, though, and reached match point with a five-point lead before Loras scored four straight to make it interesting until Stevens closed it out with her final kill on the fifth match point.
Briuna Harper (
Jr.-Waxahachie, Texas) also added five kills without an error in nine attacks and
Emily Dickmann (
Fr.-Grafton, Wis.) led the setters with 27 assists. Sullivan and Swope both posted 11 digs each, Metzler led the defense at the net with four blocks and Scoles added 10 digs plus a team-high three service aces.
Elaine Schroeder and Cat Meyer posted eight kills each for Loras, which hit a respectable .174 with 36 kills and 16 errors, including a .361 mark (16 kills, three errors) in the third set. Sophie Younkin added seven kills and Hoskins finished with 30 assists plus 10 digs.
