MEQUON, Wis. – Lakeland University got off to a fast start but Concordia University Wisconsin rallied from there and defeated the Muskies in four sets Wednesday night in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference women's volleyball match.

Lakeland won the first set 25-18 but the Falcons claimed the next three sets 25-18, 25-22, 25-18 for the victory. The Muskies took another hard-fought loss, winning at least one set for the fifth time in their eight defeats, and dropped to 4-8 overall and 0-2 in conference.

Lakeland looked good in the first set, never trailing and pulling away after the host Falcons (5-6 overall, 2-0 NACC) rallied from an early 6-1 deficit to tie the set at 9-9 and later again at 12-12. The Muskies pulled away with an 11-3 run, taking advantage of nine attack errors in the set by Concordia to get the early jump in the match.

The Falcons bounced back in the second set, specifically the second half of the set, going on a run of six straight points to take a 19-14 lead and then scoring four straight to close out the set. The Muskies appeared set to take the third set, though, after leading much of the way and then scoring five straight points to build a 20-14 lead.

The set and essentially the rest of the match turned from there, though, as CUW scored five straight points to lead Lakeland to take timeout. The Muskies briefly stemmed the tide with a kill from Isabella Westerholm (Jr.-Prior Lake, Minn.), but the Falcons would go on another 6-1 run to end the set, with a kill by Mickenzi Benter closing it out.

Concordia then pulled away after the early stages of the fifth set, with a 10-4 run producing a 15-10 lead to take control. Lakeland rallied back within 19-17 late in the set after an ace by Maeve Sullivan (Sr.-Chicago, Ill.) and a kill from Katie Metzler (Sr.-Kewaunee, Wis.) as part of three straight points, but the Falcons closed out scoring six of the final seven points, with a service ace off the tape dropping to the ground over the net on match point.

Both teams struggled on the attack, with Concordia hitting .119 with 50 kills and 31 errors and Lakeland posting a .093 attack rate with 37 kills and 24 errors. The Falcons were better after the first set, though, hitting .148 over the final three sets, while the Muskies hit just .053 after the opener.

Susana Stevens (Jr.-Las Cruces, N.M.) led Lakeland with 13 kills and Metzler and Kelly Swope (Sr.-Heyworth, Ill.) added eight kills each. Brelynn Scoles (Sr.-Kewaskum, Wis.) posted 18 digs and Sullivan added 17 digs, while Emily Dickmann (Fr.-Grafton, Wis.) finished with 17 assists and Roseily Carrasquillo (Jr.-Yabucoa, Puerto Rico) added 14 assists.

Maycee Karpfinger led the Falcons with 16 kills and Ashley Habermehl added 13 kills. Benter also totaled 39 assists.

The Muskies take to the road again Saturday for two matches at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Invitational. Lakeland faces Ripon College at 11 a.m. and will take on North Central (Ill.) College at 4 p.m.