LISLE, Ill. – Benedictine University rallied back from deficits late in the second and fourth sets and the Lakeland University women's volleyball team fell in four tough sets Thursday night in its first Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference match of the season.
The Eagles closed out a 25-22, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22 victory, reversing the teams' result last season when the Muskies won in four sets at home. Lakeland dropped to 3-6 overall with its third four-set loss of the season.
An even match saw 23 ties and 11 lead changes, all coming over the final three sets, and all four sets going down near the wire before being decided. Benedictine (5-3 overall) made the difference in the second and fourth sets, rallying late in the set both times.
The Muskies led 23-21 in the second set, just two points away from tying the match, when the Eagles soared back to steal the set. Kills by Olivia McPherson and Grace Knutsen tied the set, and McPherson then delivered a service ace to get Benedictine to set point. Knutsen then followed with another kill to put the hosts ahead 2-0 in the best-of-five.
Lakeland rallied back to win the third set, with a 7-1 run midway through the set turning a 10-8 deficit into a 15-11 lead that would propel the Muskies to the set win. Lakeland then fell behind big early in the fourth set, with the Eagles building leads of 9-3 and eventually 15-7, just 10 points from closing out the match.
The Muskies then turned the set around in a flash with an 11-1 run, taking the lead back at 18-16 after a kill from
Katie Metzler (
Sr.-Kewaunee, Wis.). Benedictine would rally back, though, scoring seven of the next nine points, and the Eagles would close it out on their second match point with a kill by Knutsen to end it.
Metzler finished with a season-high 15 kills and hit .519 with just one error in 27 attacks.
Brelynn Scoles (
Sr.-Kewaskum, Wis.) also finished with 13 kills and
Kelly Swope (
Sr.-Heyworth, Ill.) added 11 kills as the Muskies hit .191 for the match with 55 kills and 25 errors.
Scoles (16 digs) and Swope (13 digs) both finished with double-doubles, and
Maeve Sullivan (
Sr.-Chicago, Ill.) led the defense with 20 digs.
Emily Dickmann (
Fr.-Grafton, Wis.) finished with 22 assists and
Roseily Carrasquillo (
Jr.-Yabucoa, Puerto Rico) added 21 assists.
Sam Zurawski led Benedictine with 20 kills, with McPherson added 17 kills and Knutsen 16 kills. The Eagles hit .199 as a team with 65 kills and 27 errors, and also finished with a 9-3 advantage in service aces including four from McPherson.
The Muskies are on the road Saturday for two matches at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Volleyball Invitational. Lakeland will take on UW-Stout at 1 p.m. and Martin Luther (Minn.) College at 3 p.m.
