Cardinal Stritch University Wolves (2-3 overall)
at Lakeland University Muskies (4-7 overall)
Monday, Feb. 20, 2023Â Â 7 p.m.
Woltzen Gymnasium
Lakeland/Stritch Match Notes   PDF
It's a rare Monday night matchup when the Lakeland University men's volleyball team hosts Cardinal Stritch University for a non-conference match at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium this evening.
Broadcast Information:
Live video and live statistics:Â
http://www.lakelandmuskies.com/muskieslive
Series history:Â 7th meeting, Cardinal Stritch leads 4-2
The Wolves are Lakeland's oldest rival as a varsity program-Cardinal Stritch was the Muskies' first opponent in their first season as a varsity squad in 2014. The Wolves won that matchup in three sets and won four of the first five between the teams, but Lakeland won the most recent meeting in four sets at home Jan. 23, 2019 behind 16 kills from Dakota Hunter. Stritch's last win over the Muskies came almost five years ago with a three-set sweep at home in Milwaukee March 23, 2018.
Lakeland last time out: Lost to Concordia Chicago 3-2 Friday
The Muskies and Cougars went back-and-forth almost the entire match but Concordia rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win 23-25, 25-16, 22-25, 25-22 and then 20-18 in a fifth set that included each team having three match points before CUC scored the final three points.
Ben Busalacchi had another big match with a career-high 23 kills, tied for the fourth-most in a match in the program's varsity history. He also added 10 digs,
Colin Kenney finished with 13 kills,
Hunter Henson added 12 kills and
Gavin Kenney posted 11 digs in the opener to the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference season for both teams.
Busalacchi also moved up in another career category with his four service aces. He is now third in Lakeland varsity history in career aces with 72, passing a pair of 2014-17 Muskies in Matt Stolz (70 career aces) and Casey Bolda (71). The only two ahead of him in the category are
Matt Misheck (83 aces from 2018-22 and record holder Cam Ekum, who served 131 aces from 2018-22. Busalacchi's 25 aces this season are also already the eighth-most in a season in program history, with the record of 48 set by Ekum last year.
Cardinal Stritch last time out: Lost to Calumet-St. Joseph (Ind.) 3-0 last Tuesday
The Wolves lost their third straight match six days ago, falling at home to the Crimson Wave, who won an extra-long first set and went on to prevail 28-26, 25-21, 25-19. Kyle Pietrzak was nearly automatic for Stritch with 17 kills and two errors in 22 attacks for a .682 hitting percentage, but Calumet was the more efficient team overall hitting .338 for the match with 37 kills and 13 errors. Jake Evanish added 32 assists for Cardinal Stritch.
About the Wolves: Cardinal Stritch is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and a member of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, where it holds a 2-2 conference record this season. The Wolves opened defeating fellow NAIA members Trinity International (Ill.) and Morningside (Iowa) before dropping their last three matches. Stritch finished 9-14 overall last year and posted a 7-6 record in the CCAC, and the Muskies are the lone NCAA Division III member on their schedule this year.
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