PLYMOUTH, Wis. – The Lakeland University men's volleyball team swept the University of Olivet (Mich.) for its first win of the season as part of splitting two matches at its home triangular hosted at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.
The Muskies defeated Olivet 25-20, 25-21, 25-21 in the first match of the day before falling to Illinois Wesleyan in five sets in the day's last match. Lakeland saw a two-sets lead slip away in a 23-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-17, 15-10 loss to IWU, which finished the day with a pair of wins after also defeating Olivet 25-23, 25-16, 25-23 in the day's middle match.
The Muskies were solid in their opening match against the Comets (2-3 overall), hitting .245 as a team with 41 kills to 18 errors.
Ben Busalacchi (
Sr.-Muskego, Wis.) finished with 21 kills in 36 attacks for a .417 hitting percentage and Lakeland finished all three sets strong to earn the sweep.
The Muskies finished the first set on a 7-2 run, pulling away after the teams were tied 18-18, and Lakeland also closed scoring seven of the final 11 points in the second set after Olivet had closed within 18-17. The Muskies also led 21-20 late in the third set but received consecutive kills by Busalacchi and another from
Chase Anderson (
So.-Hartford, Wis.), and finished the match two points later on an Olivet attack error.
Colin Kenney (
Sr.-Shorewood, Wis.) also finished with seven kills and two service aces and
Levi Everts (
Jr.-Hartford, Wis.) added six kills plus a team-high 11 digs.
Drew Green (
Sr.-Brooklyn Center, Minn.) also totaled 10 digs and
Jordan Davis-Troller (
So.-Cottage Grove, Wis.) also added two more service aces.
The Muskies also got off to a good start in their second match, taking the first two sets against Illinois Wesleyan (2-0 overall). Lakeland was unable to match that level of play the rest of the match, though, hitting just .040 over the final three sets.
Illinois Wesleyan also heated up, particularly in the final two sets when the Titans hit a combined .392 with 24 kills and just four errors in 51 attacks. IWU trailed just once in the final two sets, after the Muskies staked an early 2-1 lead in the fifth set before the Titans responded with a 9-3 run to take control.
Busalacchi posted 20 kills and Kenney also tied his career high with 13 kills. Anderson and Everts both posted 15 digs each, Green also added 11 digs and Anderson finished with 36 assists.
Michael Eastman led Illinois Wesleyan with 18 kills, Julian Perez posted eight kills plus five blocks (one solo, four assisted) and Jake Kougan added seven kills and six block assists. The Titans hit .231 as a team with 49 kills and 18 errors and also posted 12 total blocks.
Lakeland is in action next this coming Saturday when it travels to face Goshen (Ind.) College at 3 p.m. in Goshen, Ind.
