PLYMOUTH, Wis. – Ben Busalacchi (Sr.-Muskego, Wis.) hammered the final of his 24 kills on match point in the fifth set and the Lakeland University men's volleyball team won another marathon, outlasting St. Norbert College Wednesday night in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference match.

Going five sets was twice as nice for the Muskies Wednesday as they edged the Green Knights 25-22, 24-26, 25-20, 21-25, 15-13. Lakeland improved to 5-9 overall and moved to 3-4 in five-set matches this season while also moving to 2-2 in the NACC.

The Muskies won their second straight five-set match and second in five days, after also defeating Wisconsin Lutheran College in five on Saturday. Lakeland also defeated St. Norbert (8-10 overall, 1-5 NACC) for the second straight year, and again in five sets after winning in both teams' season finale last year.

The teams alternated winning the first four sets, though the Muskies had two set points in the second set before the Green Knights rallied with the final four points to even the match at 1-1. The fifth set was as close as the rest of the match with seven ties and three lead changes, but Lakeland gained the upper hand with a 5-1 run to take an 11-8 lead. Jakob Donohue (So.-Milwaukee, Wis.) had two kills and a block in the brief run, and the Muskies continued to hold a three-point lead at 13-10 late in the set.

St. Norbert was not finished, though, scoring three straight points to tie at 13-13. A block by Michael Whitney tied the score, but Busalacchi followed with a solo block to put Lakeland ahead again and on the doorstep. Busalacchi then served and later closed it out with a kill from Chase Anderson (So.-Hartford, Wis.), who tied his career high with 52 assists.

Busalacchi finished with 24 kills and a .308 attack percentage, his second straight match with 24 kills and his eighth match of at least 20 kills this season. His final kill gave him 750 kills for his career, and a few kills earlier he moved into second on Lakeland's all-time list for career kills, passing Alec Redlich (746 kills from 2014-15).

Donohue also posted a career-high 10 kills and a .588 attack percentage. Colin Kenney (Sr.-Shorewood, Wis.) also added 10 kills and Eli Weinrich (So.-Mequon, Wis.) added eight kills plus five service aces. The Muskies as a team hit .186 with 60 kills and 29 errors.

Donohue also finished with seven blocks (one solo, six assisted), leading the way as the Muskies posted a season-high 16 blocks, just one-half block short of the school record of 16.5 blocks set three times earlier. Anderson finished with six blocks (one solo, five assisted) and Busalacchi added five blocks (four solo, one assisted).

Drew Green (Sr.-Brooklyn Center, Minn.) led the back row defense with 16 digs. Busalacchi also added 12 digs.

Kaden Kornaus led St. Norbert with 11 kills and added 12 digs. Jackson Corcoran also finished with 18 digs. The Green Knights hit .108 as a team with 51 kills and 34 errors.

Lakeland is on the road again Friday when it faces Benedictine University at 6 p.m. in Lisle, Ill.