The series between the Muskies and Eagles began in 2021, Edgewood's first year of varsity competition. The Eagles picked up their first-ever win over Lakeland last year with a 25-15, 26-24, 25-18 sweep here at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium on March 16, 2023. Gavin Patterson and Ryder Hill-Zastrow had 11 kills each and Edgewood hit .269 as a team, more than double the Muskies' hitting percentage (.120). Lakeland had won the first two meetings between the teams, including most recently a hard-earned five-set victory in Madison March 12, 2022. The Muskies rallied from two sets down to win 18-25, 19-25, 26-24, 25-21, 15-12 behind 18 kills from Matt Misheck. The teams' other meeting came Feb. 23, 2021 with Lakeland cruising to a three-set win.

Lakeland last time out: Won at Rockford 3-2 Saturday
The Muskies played yet another long match but picked up another win in one, getting by the Regents 18-25, 25-19, 25-23, 21-25, 15-5 on the road in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference match. Lakeland sprinted out to a big lead in the deciding fifth set, scoring the first six points and never letting Rockford get close the rest of the way. Ben Busalacchi finished with 15 kills and Eli Weinrich added 12 kills, Levi Everts added seven kills and three service aces and Weinrich also posted 10 digs. The Muskies went five sets for the eighth time in 18 matches and improved to 4-4 in those matches, and the win also put Lakeland one-half game behind Edgewood in the NACC standings in the battle for a place in the eight-team NACC Tournament.

Edgewood last time out: Defeated St. Norbert 3-1 Saturday
The Eagles won for the third time in their last four matches, defeating the Green Knights 25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 25-18 at home in Madison. Edgewood was two points away from completing a sweep with a 23-21 lead in the third set but cruised through the fourth set to complete the win for its fourth NACC victory. Gavin Patterson hammered home 20 kills, most in a match in Eagles program history. Max Dermody and Ryder Hill-Zastrow added 12 kills each and Jacob Bruns posted 17 digs. Edgewood has tied its program record for wins in a season and along with Lakeland is in contention for a spot in the NACC Tournament, currently sitting eighth in the conference entering Tuesday.

Still on the move: Lakeland senior Ben Busalacchi continues to climb into more of the program's all-time top 10 lists in career statistics, including moving into 10th all-time now in digs with 393. He is three digs from tying Dakota Hunter (2016-19) for ninth, five behind Matt Misheck (2018-22) for eight, and seven from becoming the eighth in program history with 400 digs.

Busalacchi also remains second in Muskies varsity history in kills and with 795 kills is close to becoming the second with 800 kills. He is currently 100 kills behind all-time leader Matt Stolz (895 from 2014-17) for the top spot all-time. Busalacchi also is second in career service aces with 115, putting him 16 behind career record holder Cam Ekum (131 from 2018-22).

Colin Kenney (71) and Levi Everts (41) also have moved into the top 10 in career service aces, entering the night tied for fourth and in 10th, respectively. Jakob Donohue also has moved into the top 10 in career blocks, currently tied with Alec Redlich (2014-15) and Nate Vanderwaal (2017-20) for 10th all-time with 89 blocks each.